City of Darkness
by percamalec
Summary: When Clary and Jace share big news, mixed feelings are surfaced and hearts are broken – again. Meanwhile, everyone is haunted by old memories and fallen dreams, and the New York Shadowhunters are not done with their share of loss. Takes place after CoHF. NOW COMPLETE! BONUS SCENES COMING SOON!
1. Prologue

**THIS HAS SPOILERS FOR COHF! IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS, DON'T READ!**

**TMI belongs to Cassie Clare!**

**Prologue:**

Clary moved around the edge of the circle, being careful not to step an inch outside of fit. She and the other three Shadowhunters were having their weekly tournament. The weapon this week was sword. Everyone was using training swords. Heosphoros leaned against the wall in its scabbard.

Alec and Jace had gone first. Their match had gone on for what seemed like hours, and it would've gone on longer if Magnus, who was observing, hadn't distracted Alec by magicking a glittery poster that read "I LOVE YOU, JACE!" Jace had easily disarmed Alec, and now it was Clary against Isabelle. Winner played Jace, and winner of that chose the weapon for next week's tournament.

Clary had a severe disadvantage, because she hadn't been a Shadowhunter for even a year. The others, however, had trained since childhood.

Izzy seemed to sense that Clary was distracted and quickly lunged forward with her sword. Clary clumsily blocked it, and Izzy smiled smugly. "Clary, Clary, pay attention!" she said in a singsong voice. Izzy may be nice, but she was competitive.

Clary tried to disarm her, but she deftly parried the blade away. She followed up with a quick wrist movement, which made the tip of Isabelle's sword end up in between Clary's hand and hilt. Izzy smiled and twisted her wrist, and the training sword flew out of Clary's hand and hit the wall right above Magnus's head, who looked at Izzy reproachfully. "You almost cut off my spikes. And that was a new gel!"

Clary sighed and fetched her training sword. She was supposed to go against Alec to see who got third and fourth place. Alec got up, but Clary shook her head.

"We all know you'd win. Besides, I'm totally exhausted," she told him.

"Maybe if you used runes, you'd have a chance at winning," Jace said with a grin.

"Using runes in a tournament is not fair!" Clary cried.

"We're Shadowhunters," Izzy said, exasperated. "We're nothing without them."

Isabelle and Jace took their places in the circle. They began circling, occasionally slashing and blocking.

. As the match went on, it got more and more intense, until eventually, Jace disarmed Isabelle.

With a smug smile, Jace said, "Weapon for next week: knives."

Izzy looked at him savagely and told him to get out. Laughing, he obliged, Alec and Magnus following. Magnus was still muttering about his hair. Clary swallowed. This was the big moment. The opportunity she'd been waiting for. She stepped forward.

"Hey… Izzy?" she asked hesitantly.

Izzy pulled three knives down from the wall. She began to fiercely throw them at the wall with varying degrees of accuracy. "Yeah?"

"Well, I was wondering… that is… would you… I mean…"

"Clary, if you're asking to hook up, I'll have to decline." Seeing the look on Clary's face, she laughed. "Jeez, Clary, I was _kidding_. But seriously, spit it out."

"I was wondering if you'd…maybe… want to be… _parabatai?_"

Izzy looked aghast. "You want _me_ to be your _parabatai?_"

"Why not? I can trust you. I would trust you with my life… and Simon's."

Isabelle's mouth tightened. "Simon?"

Clary nodded. "Simon's mortal now, an ordinary mundane. He's not a vampire anymore, and that means someone needs to look after him."

Izzy still hadn't gotten over Simon. He was remembering slowly, but it seemed like the only thing of Isabelle he remembered was one kiss, a kiss that he wasn't even sure meant anything.

Izzy thought for a moment. She could also trust Clary, and she knew the redhead would also look after Simon. She took a deep breath.

"Yes."

**Hey guys! This is my first fanfiction, I'm really interested in what you guys think! The prologue is not really interesting, but Chapter 1 will be! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE comment, I take suggestions! (unless they interfere with my plot)**

**~Emma**


	2. Clary Wants a Dog

**TMI AND ITS CHARACTERS BELONG TO CASSIE CLARE**

**Chapter 1: Present Day**

Clary gave herself a quick look-over in the mirror one last time. She was wearing a floor length black skirt and a flowing, white blouse. On her feet, she had black two-inch sandals – even at twenty-two, she still couldn't walk that well in heels. Her fiery hair was in a French braid that trailed to the side, showing off her green peridot earrings. Around her neck, she wore a necklace Jace had given her for her twenty-first birthday – a silver chain necklace that hung below her collarbone. It had green peridots hanging at varying heights, so, in a way, it looked like her neck was bleeding green blood. On her left wrist, she wore a matching bracelet. The three pieces worked together to bring out her eyes. Since it was Clary's twenty-second birthday and Jace was taking her "somewhere fancy" for dinner, she had decided to wear Jace's present, and besides, the peridot was her birthstone.

At exactly 6:00, Jace pulled up in his sleek, black Cadillac (he'd long ago ditched the motorcycles). Through her apartment window, she could see him making his way to the front of the building. Static crackled over the intercom.

"Hello, this is Mr. Sexy Shadowhunter. Is Clary home?" Normally, Clary would have rolled her eyes, but today she felt giddy.

"She is, but she has a boyfriend, so she'll have to refrain from temptation," Clary teased.

"I see. Well, I'd best be on my way, then."

Clary giggled. She grabbed a fancy gold clutch and left the apartment. She flew down the stairs and out into the main lobby. Waving to the landlord, Mr. Whitestar, who was a Shadowhunter, Clary ran out to Jace, who was leaning against his Cadillac.

"The goddess arrives," he announced, smirking. Clary blushed and threw her arms around his neck. After a moment, Jace held her at arm's length, looking her up and down. "You look beautiful, Clary," he said sincerely.

It was Clary's turn to give the look – over. Jace was wearing a white dress shirt, sleeves rolled up to a little below the elbow in the warm August air. He wore black slacks and loafers. His golden hair was curled above his ears. He wore a watch on his wrist, and the smell of cologne surrounded him. Jace _never_ dressed up, so seeing him like this was almost too much for Clary. She managed to suppress a laugh. "So do you."

"I know."

Clary rolled her eyes and climbed into the shotgun seat. Jace started driving and reached to the music controls. Katy Perry's "Birthday" filled the car.

"JACE!" Clary groaned.

"It's your birthday, and besides, I thought you liked Katy Perry," he said with a grin.

"I do. But that doesn't mean I have to like ALL of her songs." Clary glared at him.

"Fine, fine," Jace said. He reached once again to the controls and classical poured out of the speakers.

"Really, Jace? Canon in D?"

"It's a classic," Jace insisted.

"Yeah, so is literally every song from over two hundred years ago."

"Konstraughtav's Sonata No. 6 isn't a classic."

"Jace, I've never even heard of that guy."

"That's the point."

Jace parked in a parking garage and they both got out. They walked a few blocks before Jace told Clary to close her eyes. She obliged. They continued walking and after a few minutes she was allowed to open them. She stared disbelievingly and turned on Jace.

"_Taki's? _You said fancy!" Clary glared at him.

"Just wait…"

They walked inside. Clary could see Tessa and Zachariah in a booth in the corner. She waved. Jace walked up to the counter and said something about a reservation in a private room. A waitress led them to a door and told them their server would be over soon. They stepped into the room, and _yes_, it was fancy. There was a single circular table in the center of the room. It had a white tablecloth and was set for two. The walls were paneled with cedar wood, and the floor had a massive Persian rug.

Jace held Clary's chair out for her before taking his own.

"You wouldn't believe how much this cost me," he said proudly.

"Yeah, okay, maybe it is fancy," Clary mumbled. A waiter came in and filled their glasses with ice water. He picked up a champagne bottle from a corner table and poured their goblets half full. Clary ordered a salad to start and Jace got some disgusting looking soup. They made small talk as the evening went on, moving on to the entrees and finally, dessert. They ordered a slice of chocolate cake to share. As they waited, Jace started fidgeting.

"Clary," he began. He paused. "Clary, I – we…" he took a breath. "We've been dating for about six years now. I don't even know how to say this, but what I do know is that… if you hadn't come into my life, I'd still be that old me. The one who pushed people away, who was a jerk to everyone, who put my life on the line for no reason. You make me a better person as a whole, on so many levels." He seemed to be steeling himself. Clary had never seen him look this nervous.

"Jace… are you…"

She was interrupted by their waiter's arrival. Seeing that he'd interrupted something, he quickly set down the cake and left.

Clary turned around and was startled to find Jace kneeling, his hands taking Clary's. His amber eyes stared into her green ones.

"Clarissa Fray, will you marry me?"

Clary's breath caught. It was the phrase she had dreamed of hearing. It felt as though she _was_ dreaming. But this was real, she was sure of it. So she sat in shock, staring at Jace for what must have been a long time, because when she snapped into reality, Jace's expression had transformed into one of worry.

"Clary, it's all right. I under - "

"Yes."

"What?" Jace looked shocked.

"Yes, Jace Herondale, I will marry you."

Jace was relieved. "Oh, thank God, I thought you'd sit there forever."

Clary smiled. "I was thinking about the name, Clary Herondale."

Jace looked at her, and before she knew it, she was encircled in Jace's arms and they were kissing. Clary put her hands around his neck, and Jace pulled her closer. The kiss was slow and passionate and was full of the hopes and dreams of a new life together. They broke apart.

"Can we get a dog?" Clary asked.

"What?"

"Can we get a dog?" Clary repeated.

Jace laughed. "Fray, if I'd known you'd marry me if I had a dog, I'd be running a kennel."

"Herondale," Clary said. Jace raised his eyebrows. "I'm a Herondale now."

Jace grinned. "Yes, you are."

**So, I got a review asking about Simon's ascension and why he needs to be looked after. The prologue took place like a few weeks after the epilogue of CoHF, so he hasn't ascended yet. Of course, now that the story's picked up in present day, He's ascended. **

**Just thought I'd clear that up. **

**I'll try to update often, but if I give myself a deadline, I won't get it done, so just bear with me here :p**

**~Emma**


	3. Jocelyn is Unfaithful

**TMI belongs to Cassandra Clare!**

**So, I've decided to give more insight on this fic! Regarding ships, it will feature a ton of them (Clace, Malec, Sizzy, maybe Jessa, Blackstairs towards end, etc.), though not Maia x Bat, bc I don't really ship them. I might add it later on though. (Sorry if you wanted to see that)**

**Also, I wanted to give a huge thank you for the supportive comments :) **

**Chapter 2:**

Tessa Gray looked across the table at James Carstairs. He was picking his way through his plate of xiaolongbao (traditional Shanghai dish). He was expertly picking up the dumplings with his chopsticks, while Tessa used a fork for her glamorgan sausage.

Usually, they only met in January, but these past few years, they'd been meeting more often. Now they were sitting in a corner booth in Taki's.

Tessa found it hard to be with Jem without actually _being_ with Jem. They had been engaged at one point, but then she was kidnapped and Jem gave up his love for Will's love, as well as for his own life. Tessa felt sure he didn't feel that way anymore. In a way, that was fine with her. After Will had died, Tessa had fallen apart. Now that Jem was mortal again, she didn't think she could go through all that again. So it was probably for the best that she distanced herself.

But maybe she didn't want what was for the best. Maybe she just couldn't distance herself. Jem and Magnus were the only people who understood her. But Tessa had no romantic attraction to Magnus, and he was courting someone anyway. But Jem…

Tessa was snapped out of her reverie by a pair of slim fingers snapping in front of her face. She looked up, startled, and saw that Jem was looking at her.

"I'm sorry, I was thinking. Did you say something?" Tessa asked, embarrassed.

Jem gave a small smile. "I was saying that I thought you might be happy to hear that I took your advice."

"My advice?" Tessa was confused.

"Regarding young Emma Carstairs. I wrote her a week ago. I revealed our family connection."

"Oh!" Tessa said. "That advice. Did you get a response yet?"

"No, though it has been only a week. I wouldn't blame her if she needed time to absorb it all."

"Anyone would be happy if they were related to you, Jem," Tessa said. Jem looked at her, and her face turned pink when she realized what she'd said. "I mean, not – not in that w – I only meant… um."

Jem looked at her intently. "No, go on."

Tessa was really blushing now. "I, uh," she stammered. "I don't know what I… what I was thinking?" The end of her sentence trailed up in pitch, as if it was a question.

Jem raised his eyebrows. "So you _wouldn't_ like to be related to me?"

Tessa rushed to fix her mistake. "No, no, of course I would, I just…"

"Just what?"

"I only meant-" Tessa was interrupted as the door Clary and Jace had gone into earlier banged open. The two Nephilim came out, Clary holding Jace's arm. They were both smiling, huge smiles that stretched across their faces. Tessa couldn't help but smile herself. Unlike their smiles, her's wasn't one of complete happiness. It was only part happiness, but the other part was a quiet sadness, one that spoke of painful memories.

Clary and Jace left, and Tessa's smile slowly faded.

She abruptly stood up and looked at Jem. "I need to get going. It's been nice seeing you, as always." She started putting on her coat.

"Tessa, wait –" Jem started, but Tessa was already halfway to the door of the diner.

Jem gave a sigh, and with sad eyes, watched her slip out of the diner, like she had slipped out of his life all those years ago.

**(line break)**

"Jocelyn?"

Luke called out again, but in the dark farmhouse, he could not find her. He sighed.

He had checked every room in the house twice, but she was still nowhere to be found. He walked to the back door and flung it open. Moonlight streamed down on the lake, and he thought he could see a form by the water. He started walking.

-o-

"Jocelyn? Is that you?" he called.

As Luke came nearer, the form looked up, then darted away, leaving only trampled grass. He reached the spot where it had been and identified the footprints as a deer's, and adolescent female.

He was about to call out again, but he heard a noise. It was very quiet. Luke changed into wolf form to hear better, and then listened.

He could hear an owl hooting, the light breeze ruffling leaves, the lap of water on the shores of the lake. Listening deeper, he heard it again. It was a sob. His wolf ears perked and he began following the sound. He saw a human kneeling by the lake, maybe thirty yards off. His paws made no noise as they padded on the soft grass.

He stopped about ten yards away, not too close to be noticed, not so far so he couldn't hear. From this distance, Luke could tell the figure was Jocelyn. Then he heard it. The name he never wanted to hear again.

"Valentine," Jocelyn sobbed. "Why? Why did you have to go? You left me. You said you never would, but you left me. "

Luke couldn't accept this. He didn't want to hear anymore, but his paws didn't listen. They stayed put.

"You left me. And you let me believe … let me believe my son was dead. And then I found him. But he was like you. He was evil. You put demon blood in him. You made a monster. And then. Then you left me."

Her voice was melancholy.

Luke turned and silently padded away to the house.

**I've been rereading my previous chapters, and I've made a ton of typos. Lol I'll have to fix that at some point!**

**Please review! I read all of them!**

**~Emma**


	4. Isabelle gets Told

**I do NOT own The Mortal Instruments series! That goes to Cassandra Clare!**

**Since I have absolutely NO idea how long Ascension takes, I'm assuming Simon would've been a Shadowhunter by now, bc it's been six years. If anyone knows how long it takes (bc it might have been said in TID, but I don't remember) please tell me.**

**Chapter 3:**

Isabelle sat in the greenhouse pondering her life. It had gone remarkably downhill in the last few years. Alec had told her she seemed like a shell. Like a thing that sat there doing nothing. She tried to be happy-go-lucky, but it just didn't feel right. All because of one thing…

Simon Lewis.

When he had given his memories to Magnus's father, her heart had been ripped out of her chest and put into a food processor. When Magnus thought he had found a way to restore his memories, the heart had been stuffed back inside, still ground up from the food processor. Then he had actually started to remember, and a team of construction workers had started repairs on Isabelle's heart. But they hadn't made it far, because Izzy realized he was remembering everything _except_ her.

He remembered a kiss, and that was all. He wasn't sure if it meant anything or not. He still called her Isabelle, even if he was corrected every time.

If Izzy was paying attention, she would have heard the creak of the greenhouse door.

If Izzy was paying attention, she would have heard the pad of shoes cross the floor.

If Izzy was paying attention, she would have realized the feet were heading toward her.

But Izzy was _not_ paying attention.

She was lost in thought as Simon made his way to her and sat on the floor beside her, clearing his throat.

"Hi," Simon tried for small talk. Izzy didn't want to have small talk with Simon. She didn't want to talk at all.

"Bye." She stood and made for the door, but her way was blocked by Simon. She tried to push past him, but he wouldn't budge.

"No," he said.

"Excuse me?" Isabelle asked, incredulous.

"You are _not_ leaving. Every time I walk into a room, you leave. You refuse to go on any outings with me unless there's at least five other people going. You're not leaving. We are going to talk, and you're going to tell me why you're always avoiding me."

Izzy sighed and sat down, knowing she would've had to face Simon sooner or later. She glared at him.

"What do you want to know?" Izzy asked sarcastically.

"First off," Simon ticked one finger. "Why don't you like me?"

"I don't not like you," Izzy said carefully.

"Okay," Simon said. "Then why do you avoid me?"

Izzy laid her head against the wall. "Because I can't be near you unless there's something to distract me."

"Distract you from what?"

"From you."

Simon thought about that for a moment. When he spoke next, his voice was quiet.

"What happened between us before I lost my memories?"

Isabelle stiffened. "I think there have been enough questions."

"No, there hasn't," Simon said. He looked at her.

Izzy swallowed. "You loved me," she whispered.

Simon nodded as if he had assumed as much. "What about you?"

Izzy's brow furrowed.

"Did you love me back?"

"I – I did. But I never got to tell you," she said, even more quietly.

Simon propped his head on his hand. He thought.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Because you couldn't remember." Saying it out loud broke her. Quiet tears slipped slowly out of her eyes. Simon put his hand on Izzy's.

"Maybe the reason I can't remember you is because you're never near me." He looked into her eyes.

Izzy looked away and stood again. "Yeah, well."

She left, and Simon didn't stop her.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

Magnus followed Alec into the music room of the Institute.

"Chairman?" he called again. No response. With a sigh of frustration, he ran his hands through his spiked hair.

Chairman Meow had been missing since this morning, when Magnus had brought him over because he had planned on spending the day in the library doing research. Then Alec had shown up, and they'd gotten…distracted.

And now his cat was missing.

They checked the music room, and, not finding anything, left.

"We should check the library," Alec said.

"I'm pretty sure he's not there, but we should go anyway to get my stuff," Magnus said.

So they went into the library. Magnus headed to the big table in the middle and started gathering his stuff, which consisted of a few books, paper, a pen, and a vial of "Emergency Glitter."

"Hey, I found him!" Alec called. He was standing by the fireplace looking at an armchair. His hair fell into his eyes as he leaned forward. "Is that… Church?"

"Church?" Magnus made his way over to Alec. Indeed, Chairman Meow was curled up with Church, their noses a millimeter apart.

Alec starts laughing really hard. Magnus looked at him with concern.

"Are you okay? Alec?"

Alec's face was really red, and he was doubled over on the floor, tears coming out of his eyes as he silently cracked up. Magnus did not know what was so funny, but it gave him joy to see Alec happy, and so soon he was laughing with Alec, though not as hard as him. Alec stood up and took deep breaths, his smile still there. Magnus raised his eyebrows.

"Are you going to tell me why you just fell on the floor and look constipated?"

Alec burst into another fit of laughter. He left the library with Magnus, who'd picked up Chairman Meow while Alec was on the floor.

They walked to the front doors, Alec muttering something about gay cats.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

**2010**

Deep in the demon realm of Edom, the great Asmodeus lounged upon his throne of hardened ash.

He was feeling like something was missing inside of him. It had started long ago, and gotten progressively worse. Then he realized what it was.

He was losing the memories of the boy.

The one who was friends with Magnus. Frowning, he waved his hand and conjured a window into the human world to check on the boy.

He saw Magnus – his own son! – handing a green drink to the one Asmodeus had taken the memories from.

Asmodeus knew what the drink was. A way to get the boy's memories back.

Did they think they could outsmart him? He was all- powerful!

His frown deepened, and he closed the window. Then he took out a piece of ashy paper and ripped a feather off a nearby demon. He began plotting.

They could not outsmart him.

It would take time, but Asmodeus would get vengeance.

It would be worse than the original deal.

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**See what happens when I don't give myself a deadline? I get it done. :p I've been doing pretty good, as of updates. I've done 4 updates in 4 days!**

**~Emma**


	5. Clary has Anger Issues

**Helloooooo**

**In case you didn't know, I don't own The Mortal Instruments or its characters! Also, you're an idiot because I've said it five times now! **

**Anyway, here's the story:**

**Chapter 4: **

Clary sighed outside the door of the Institute. Tonight, she was there to attend her birthday party, which Jocelyn had forced them to throw, because Shadowhunters don't celebrate birthdays. Clary didn't like parties that were for her. She never knew where to look while everyone sang Happy Birthday. But, she would get through this.

She pressed her hand to the door and walked inside. She made her way to the kitchen; The dining room was too big – meant to fit over two hundred – to have a birthday party in. The kitchen was an appropriate size, and it had a table that could fit twelve.

Clary walked into the kitchen, and discovered she was early. Only her mother, Luke, and Izzy were there.

The kitchen was decorated in gold, with gold streamers hanging from the ceiling, gold confetti on the floor and furniture, gold dishware. Gold. Everywhere.

She was about to say something when Alec and Magnus walked in, Magnus holding something wrapped in purple and tied with a gold ribbon. Magnus looked around and remarked, "You're not very popular, I see."

Alec jabbed him with his elbow.

"Hey, I'm right. The first time we met, you were at one of my parties. It was a full house," he said. He then looked at Clary. "Oh dear, I didn't mean to brag about my popularity in front of the unpopular people."

Clary picked up a handful of confetti and threw it at him. He snapped his fingers, and with a shower of blue sparks, the confetti flew out of his hair and landed in Clary's. Clary indignantly gasped. She didn't know why. After all, it was only confetti. Confetti that Magnus had thrown at her.

"You…"

She jumped on him, knocking him to the ground. She felt Alec trying to pull her off, and heard Jocelyn and Izzy screaming (Izzy in glee and Jocelyn in fear). She anchored her hands in Magnus's hair and pulled. Magnus gave a yelp and she felt something that felt tike electricity in her side. She was thrown off of Magnus. Clary growled and lunged for him, but she hit an invisible wall. Magnus stood and smiled smugly, his hair no longer spiky. Izzy was laughing so hard she'd fallen on the floor and was clutching her chest with her hand.

"Well," said a voice from the hall. "It looks like we came at the perfect time."

Clary spun around, her irrational anger subsiding when she saw it was Simon and Jace.

Jace had a twinkle in his eyes, and Simon looked around with a look of shock.

"Why… why is Magnus's hair so… _normal_?" he asked. Magnus snapped his fingers, and his hair snapped back into place.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he proclaimed, waving his hand as if dismissing Simon.

"Right…" Simon said.

Clary just hung around while more guests trickled in. Eventually, Jocelyn gathered everyone and told them it was time for presents. Izzy gave her a bracelet that could be uncoiled and used as a whip; Simon gave her a new sketchpad and a CD of a bunch of his songs; Magnus and Alec gave her a pencil that changed color depending on what Clary wanted. She opened a bunch more, until there were none left. Jocelyn stood.

"Clary, you may have noticed that you didn't open a present from me. My present to you can't be wrapped, and it won't arrive for a few months. What I'm giving you is," she looked at Luke and grabbed his hand, "a baby sister."

There was a mass chaos. Clary started screaming and Luke just stood there, looking surprised but n necessarily happy. Maryse and Tessa were congragulating Jocelyn.

"Wait a minute," Isabelle started. "I don't mean to be rude, but aren't you like fifty years old?"

Jocelyn turned pink. "_I'm _not having the baby. Luke and I have been in contact with an Adoption Agency. I hid the letter from him so he wouldn't know that we'd been put on the list."

She smiled a Luke, and Luke smiled back, though it seemed like a forced smile, a smile that he didn't really mean. Jace stood up.

"Clary and I also have some big news to share." He smiled at Clary. "Earlier this week, we became engaged."

At first, there was silence. Then, an explosion of noise that was deafening. Izzy was screaming and hugging Clary and Jace. Alec clapped Jace on the back and then they did some sort of handshake that apparently all guys know. Simon wrapped Clary in a hug after Izzy. Luke was smiling, _actually_ smiling, unlike before. Jocelyn was shouting and holding Clary to her. Then she held out her arms to Jace, and Jace was engulfed in a bear hug. Tessa and Zachariah were applauding and smiling.

"Oh, we need wedding plans!" cried Jocelyn. "Let's see: colors, cake, flower arrangements, invitations – ooh maybe we can get fancy calligraphy – and dresses, yes, dresses. Shadowhunter gold or mundane white? Maybe a mix, no, definitely gold. Oh, and we'll need a place obviously, I wonder –"

"Mom!" Clary interrupted. "Mom, you'll have plenty of time to plan later."

Jocelyn blinked. "Oh, yes, of course." Her eyes lit up. "Ooh, Magnus, do you think you could do gold glitter that just keeps floating in the air?"

Magnus's eyes were alight as well. "YES! YES! YES!" he exclaimed. "That would be so FABULOUS!" He turned to Jace. "And I can help you with your outfit, I'm very educated in men's fashion. We could do-"

"No," Jace interjected. "Whatever it is, absolutely not."

"Good choice," Simon said.

"Hey!" Magnus cried. "We used to be immortal buddies. You would just turn on me like that?"

"Um," said Simon.

"Hey, maybe I could turn him into a rat again. For the wedding. He could be the ring bearer. You know, carry them on his tail," Magnus mused to Jace.

"Well…" Jace said.

"No. No. No," Simon said.

"Are you sure? I could change the color of your fur. Magenta, maybe."

"Magnus," Alec said.

"What? I'm just saying," said Magnus.

"I'm sure," Simon told Magnus.

-o-

Tessa leaned against the wall, Jem beside her.

"You know, maybe you should tell Jace about your family connection," Jem lamented.

Tessa shook her head. "He's not ready."

Jem gave her a look. "He's known that he's a Herondale for about seven years. When _will_ he be ready?"

"When I'm ready," Tessa answered.

"Which is when?"

"I don't know."

Jem reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, his knuckles brushing her cheek, sending shivers through her.

"Do you think you will ever be ready?" he asked, his voice quiet.

"I don't know," Tessa said again.

"Nor do I," he said, his eyes sad. Then he kissed her hand and left.

"**knuckles" is a weird word. I realized that while writing this chapter. **

**SO I probably won't be posting much on the weekends, but I'll be posting on weekdays. **

**Tell me any thoughts you have!**

**~Emma**


	6. Jocelyn is not Unfaithful

**Once again, I do not own the Mortal Instruments or its characters, except Clary's little sister.**

**Okay, so my history teacher has this gum war thing where he tries to catch people chewing gum to get points and you have to make it through the entire class chewing gum w/out being caught to get points for the class. This one kid got caught a ton of times, so today my teacher's like "I own you, man, come on. I OWN you. You are completely and utterly mine." And I was thinking "Stop being a Sebastian, Mr. Z" lol**

**Ok, sorry for the delay;**

**Chapter 5:**

Luke sat on the couch watching _Once Upon A Time _reruns so that he would be caught up when it returned for Season 4. He was close to finishing. He was on the episode where (SPOILERS FOR SEASON THREE) Emma gave up her magic to save Hook.

The show had just returned from a commercial break when Jocelyn burst through the door, arms full of groceries and paint supplies. She walked to the kitchen and set them down before returning to the living room and settling herself on the couch beside Luke. She snuggled close to him and put her head in the crook of his neck.

Luke sat still and didn't say anything. Jocelyn pulled back and looked at him, concern etched in her face.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

Luke turned off the TV and turned to look at Jocelyn. "No, actually, everything is _not_ alright," he said, staring her right in the eye.

"Are you sick? Are you mad I didn't tell you about the baby? Is–"

"I saw you at the lake."

Jocelyn looked genuinely confused. "The lake?"

"Don't play innocent, Jocelyn. I saw you at the lake earlier this week," he said, standing up and pacing in front of the couch.

''Luke, you _know_ I was out every night this week to get ready for my art show."

That was true. "A petty excuse," Luke scoffed.

Jocelyn folded her arms. "Oh, really? Then, tell me, what was I doing at the lake?"

"You know what you were doing," he said.

"No, I don't."

"Yeah, right."

Jocelyn looked at the clock mounted above the fireplace. She threw her hands in the hair. "You know what? Go back to your stupid TV show. I've got to get to the museum." She picked up her car keys from the kitchen table and left.

"It's not stupid," Luke said, then sat down to brood. And finish watching _Once Upon A Time_.

-o-

Luke sprang into wolf form and crept out of the house like he'd been doing every night this week. He went closer to her than he had ever gone before. He always checked to see if she was there. Sometimes she was, sometimes she wasn't.

This time she was. She said the same things she always said. The same things she had said the first time. He was about to turn around and leave when a new smell caught his scent. _Danger._

He jumped in front of Jocelyn just as a bunch of figures dressed in black came bounding out, lighting up the night with the glow of their…_seraph blades?_

Luke growled. The figure in front told him to get out of the way in a very familiar voice… _Jocelyn?_

Luke looked in confusion at the Jocelyn in front of him and the Jocelyn he was guarding, who had turned to face the Shadowhunters and looked panicked. The group of Shadowhunters ran past him and started attacking the first Jocelyn.

He couldn't see much save for the seraph blades, making graceful movements through the dark night. Eventually the first Jocelyn was gone. There was only the second Jocelyn and the other Shadowhunters. Jocelyn walked toward Luke, leaving the others to gossip about the victory, and motioned for him to follow. They walked to the house and sat in the kitchen. Luke sat at the table and Jocelyn leaned against the counter.

"What just happened?" Luke asked, confused and in shock.

"Agramon," Jocelyn answered.

"Oh," Luke said softly. Agramon was a Greater Demon. The Demon of Fear. He took the form of whatever you feared.

"How did you know?" Luke asked.

"I didn't. I guessed something was wrong. I didn't know what, but something was."

"So you saw everything."

"Everything," she agreed. She looked at him with sad eyes. "Luke…"

Luke looked at her then with intensity. He needed to hear what she had to say.

She sat down next to him and put her hands on his. "Luke," she said again softly. "Valentine is in the past. I loved him, and now I love you. I will always love you." She smiled. "Unless you feed demon blood to the baby."

Luke looked shocked. "What, Jocelyn, I would… you know I would never…"

Jocelyn smiled again. "Kidding."

Luke relaxed. "Well, I'm not giving demon blood to the baby. Speaking of which, what are we naming this child?"

"I've got some ideas."

-o-

Izzy was in Clary's apartment. Clary was making a plate of nachos, while Izzy lounged at the table. She propped her foot up on the table.

"Get your foot off my table," Clary snapped. She couldn't help it. Why was she always so angry? She was furious at the smallest thing. Someone knocked her pen off a table, she snapped. Someone talked to her, she snapped. Someone's in her way, she snapped.

Izzy raised her eyebrows. She propped her other foot on top of the first one.

"You know, you can leave if you want. Door's through there," Clary told her.

"Well, I don't want to leave."

Clary glared at her.

"What's going on with you?" Izzy asked. "You're so crabby."

Clary sighed. "I don't know. I can't help it. Everything's so… infuriating."

Izzy nodded. "Maybe you're pregnant," she said matter-of-factly.

"_What?_" Clary asked, horrified.

"Joking, Clary, joking," Izzy said.

"It's not funny."

"Um, yeah, it kind of is."

"If you were in a relationship, you'd understand." Clary smirked.

Izzy stiffened. "That's not funny."

"Um, yeah, it kind of is," Clary mimicked.

Izzy glared.

"So, got anyone in mind? I don't know, Simon's single," Clary hinted.

"It's not happening," Izzy said. "So don't try to make it."

Clary had finished preparing the nachos and joined Isabelle at the table. "Worth a shot."

"No, it wasn't, and neither were all the other times you suggested it. Got any guac?"

Clary got up to look in the fridge. She returned with a container of sour cream and said, "That's all I got."

"You don't make nachos without guac."

"Sorry. Didn't know there was a rule."

Izzy rolled her eyes and tried the sour cream.

"Horrible," she informed Clary.

**Yeah, so things will be picking up a little in the next few chapters. Stick around!**

**As always, review review review! **

**As I'm writing this, my dad's walking around whistling the Game of Thrones song. Lol**

**Which btw, I am not allowed to read or watch, sadly. Everyone says it's really good.**

**~Emma**


	7. Clary has Anger Issues Part 2

**Today was my last day of school! YAY**

**I don't own the Mortal Instruments sadly enough!**

**Chapter 6:**

Clary was sitting with Jace in the music room. Jace was trying to teach her to play piano again. Clary's fingers were made for art, not music, but she still tried.

She could play scales in tune, but it sounded rough and forced, whereas Jace's playing sounded like tinkling bells and graceful tones.

After she abominated another scale, she felt a hand on her arm. Her eyes trailed up the arm to reach Jace's eyes.

"I think we can stop now," he said.

Clary sighed. "Yeah. I suck. Maybe next time I'll teach you to paint."

"Sure," Jace said doubtfully.

"Hey, it's not that hard."

"Sure," he said again.

They fell silent and looked at each other. A grin spread slowly across Jace's face.

"You know what? I'll take that offer," Jace said.  
Clary looked at him suspiciously, and then smiled. "Well, you need to have a subject to paint."

His grin spread even farther. "I was thinking of nudes."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, if you don't want to pose, I could ask someone else…"

"Like Magnus?"

Jace turned green. "Okay, maybe I'll do still life or something."

"That's what I thought," Clary said.

Jace opened his mouth but was interrupted by the opening of the door. It was Simon.

Clary felt that familiar feeling that she felt every time someone did something wrong. Why did he have to come in? Couldn't he see they were busy?

_Of course he couldn't. He didn't even know you were in here. And you weren't busy._

Clary didn't like this rational voice that said things that made sense. She blocked it out. She looked at Simon.

"What do you want?" she asked. Simon looked surprised at the venom in her voice.

"I was just –"

"Yeah, well, thanks for 'justing', but you can leave now." Jace looked at her in surprise.

"But…" Simon started.

Clary shot him a look, irritated.

Simon planted his feet. "I'm a Shadowhunter, so I have just as much right as you do to be here."

"I don't care."

Jace put his hand on her arm.

"Clary…" he said warningly.

"No," she shook his hand off and pointed her finger at Simon. "You," she started, "need to go. Now."

"Why?" Simon asked, as if issuing a challenge.

"Because I said so," she said. She walked to Simon and pressed her outstretched finger into his chest. "And you should listen to me. Because you aren't pure Shadowhunter, and if you're not of pure lineage, then you are lesser than us."

Simon was getting mad now. "I drank from the Mortal Cup. I am first generation, and you're the one who's not pure Shadowhunter. You've got angel blood injected into you by your horrific father who murdered thousands, if not more. But from the way you've been acting lately, I'm starting to think he accidentally gave you _fallen_ angel blood."

Clary's eyes blazed. "Oh, I assure you, it's angel blood, and that makes me even more of a Shadowhunter than the rest. I am more angel than human. I am what Nephilim were supposed to be like," she smirked. "So listen, Simon, to me. Leave."

Simon looked at her with a face of many emotions. He left.

_You'll be sorry._

Ugh. The voice was back.

Clary stared at the door hard, as if expecting it to open to let someone else in to annoy her.

And the door opened, but not to let someone in. To let someone out.

Jace opened the door and strode out, almost speed walking. He didn't look back at her, or even slow down.

_I told you._

-o-

Isabelle was sitting in the greenhouse – again.

To prevent anyone from sneaking up on her like last time, she had previously drawn a rune to enhance her senses. It worked.

She felt the vibrations of feet running. She leaped up and hid under a table that held several plants, one of which had leafy tendrils that snaked to the floor and kept her hidden from view.

The door flew open. Simon stalked in, face red. She wasn't sure if it was from anger or the running. He started heading down one of the many paths branching off from the main entrance. She waited until he had been gone for a few minutes, and then crawled out. She was brushing off dirt particles from her legs when the door slammed open again. This time it was Jace. Jace looked around wildly until his eyes fell on Izzy.

"Where's Simon?" he asked.

Izzy pointed down the path Simon had just gone. "Why?"

Jace explained, and Izzy followed him down the path. They followed the whole loop of the path, and then tried all the others, all the while calling Simon's name. He was nowhere to be found.

"Where is he?" Jace asked again.

Izzy began walking down the original path, her heart beating wildly. The path went through a tunnel of trellises covered with vines. She knelt in the tunnel and observed a leaf.

"Look," she said to Jace. "They're all bent and crooked." She looked around at the surrounding leaves.

"They all are," Jace said.

It was true. The leaves on one of the trellises were out of shape. After examining, Isabelle could tell that someone had fallen and tried to grab onto one of the trellises to slow their fall.

"It must be Simon, but he's not anywhere, and I didn't hear the door opening, so he couldn't have left," she said.

Jace was pacing. "He has to be in here."

But he wasn't. They combed the greenhouse again. Then they searched the rest of the Institute, called his mom and his sister, and still they couldn't find him anywhere. Izzy sighed and took out her phone. "I'm going to try calling his cell."

She punched in his number and a message came up on her screen.

_This phone number cannot be reached now or ever. Don't try to call again. _

Izzy paled and showed it to Jace.

"A demon energy must be hacking it. Simon's been kidnapped," Jace said.

Jace handed the phone back to Izzy.

Another message came up.

_But by all means, do come find us. We'll be waiting!_

-o-

Simon woke up on a hard, stone floor. The walls were also stone, and so was the ceiling. He could see no visible door. His left ankle was chained to a bolt in the center of his cell, which was about a six by six cube. His stele and weapons were gone.

The air felt familiar, but not normal familiar. He struggled to remember.

He dove into his memory collection, which was still a bit rough around the edges. He immersed himself in them, feeling every one, searching for something specific.

He saw darkness.

He saw demons.

He saw what looked like the Hall of Accords, but made of metal.

He saw Clary sitting on a throne, everyone kneeling at her feet.

And last, he saw a white man in a white suit talking, a smirk on his face as he looked at the group of Nephilim around him. He felt himself stepping forward and saying something, Isabelle turning to look at him in absolute horror.

He snapped out of his memories.

Edom. This is Edom.

_Well done._

The voice echoed everywhere around Simon.

_I hope you don't mind me spiriting you away like that._

The cell reverberated with something that must have been a laugh.

_Then again, it seemed like you were in the middle of a fight. I bet you never would've guessed she thought that about you._

Another deafening laugh.

_She didn't know she had those thougts either. Of course, that might have been because I planted them there._

**:)**

**I was rereading CoHF and I realized Cassandra uses a LOT of commas. I haven't checked the whole book, but so far the record is seven commas in one sentence. As I said, a LOT.**

**So as always, review review review bc I love reading them!**

**Shoutout to Angelnnocence and iassri17 for commenting the most (and the biggest) reviews!**

**~Emma**


	8. Tessa Puts Jace in his Place

**I do not own the wonderfully brilliant and heartbreaking series called The Mortal Instruments.**

**It feels like forever since I updated, but it's only been four days. :\**

**Well, here ya go:**

**Chapter 7:**

It was the morning after Simon's disappearance, and Isabelle was perched on the edge of her neon green bedspread. Pink was too girly, so Izzy had switched to black and green, and sometimes turquoise.

While Jace, Magnus, and Alec sought answers from the city, Izzy needed to stay at the Institute and look for clues to the disappearance while also keeping the news from Clary, but Izzy knew that if Clary straight out asked, she couldn't lie, not to her _parabatai_.

She heard a _clang_ from the bathroom, probably from something dropping into the trash can, and Clary came out, exhaling as she sat down next to Izzy.

"Well?" Izzy prompted.

Clary leaned back, lying flat across the bed on her back. "It was negative," she said, relief flooding both her voice and her face.

Izzy nodded. "I told you," she said.

"You _told me?_ You're the one who said I was pregnant in the first place," Clary said, looking at Izzy quizzically.

"Yeah, but then I said I was kidding, so that technically I said you _weren't_ pregnant," Izzy pointed out.

Clary made a face. "Where'd you get that thing, anyway?"

Izzy waved her hand. "All you need to know is that it wasn't mine."

Clary sighed and shook her head. She felt it rising, that feeling of anger and frustration, but she managed to keep it down. They sat in peace for about five minutes, just talking about celebrities and hair, the way normal girls would. Eventually the topic switched to boys. Just because Clary was engaged didn't mean she couldn't gossip.

Eventually Izzy said quietly, "What about you and Simon?"

Clary's face twisted into one of panic.

"Simon! Oh, my god, Simon. Where is he? Oh, my god, I need to apologize, oh," she rambled. "Simon, ugh…"

"Um, Clary." Izzy swallowed. "Um, Simon, he's… uh…" And then, with a heavy heart, Isabelle broke the news.

**-o-**

Jace threw open the door to the library and stalked inside, Magnus and Alec following.

"How could NO ONE know anything about Simon's kidnapping?" Jace shouted in frustration, running his hands through his hair.

"Well, it is quite possible, actually," Magnus said. "See, if-"

Jace let out a noise of frustration and flipped a small table over, books spilling to the floor.

"Watch it," someone yelled loudly. Tessa Gray ran over from a distant corner of the library, her face like a storm. When she saw it was Jace, her face softened. "No appreciation for literature," she said in a teasing voice. "I guess it doesn't run in the family."

Jace whirled. "You knew my father?"

_Knew him? I was his great – great – grandmother. _"No, no. No, nothing of the sort."

Out of the corner of his eye, Jace could see Magnus raising his eyebrows at Tessa.

"You're lying. I can see it."

"I assure you-"

"TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT MY FAMILY!"

Tessa stiffened. Her voice was dead calm. "No. No, I will not, and don't you ever speak to me that way again, young man, or you might find every little secret in that pretty head of yours out in the open for everyone to know." Her eyes flashed, and she turned on her heel and left the library.

Alec had stuffed his fist in his mouth to stifle his laughter, but Jace could see it racking his body. He glared at him, causing Alec to really lose it. Alec stumbled out in the hall, his laughter echoing in the large corridors.

"Young man," Jace muttered very quietly, so Magnus wouldn't hear. "What right does she have…"

Magnus, who had clearly heard, gazed at Jace, his sad eyes mesmerizing. "She has more right than anyone else."

_What's that supposed to mean?_

**-o-**

"What do you mean, _he's missing?_" Clary demanded.

"Well-"

Izzy was interrupted by a loud crash followed by several shouts.

"We should probably…" Izzy started, but Clary was already running.

They ran until they found Tessa Gray stalking away with a face of stone.

"Library," she muttered.

They ran to the library doors, where they found Alec kneeling and cracking up (why was he always laughing?). Magnus was just inside on his way out. Jace was standing next to an overturned table and a pile of books on the floor. He was facing the other way.

He didn't notice Clary until she set her hand on his shoulder. He spun around, and, seeing who it was, ran.

**-o-**

_Get away, get away._

He repeated it to himself as he ran. Finally the stress of the past few days got to him, and he slowed. He kept walking, walking towards Away From Clary.

He was almost to the training room when he saw a shimmer of air. He stopped and looked around. There it was again.

It moved about him in a swirl, circling him over and over, giving him a feeling of a cool breeze. It got more and more intense, until the breeze became a hurricane, and he was cold, so cold, and finally he collapsed to the ground.

**Don't you hate it when you find a really good fic with a great plot, but you can't read it because there's such bad grammar?**

**I HATE that.**

**~Emma**


	9. Magnus Talks Back

**So yeah. You might have heard…. I don't own TMI or its characters (except for Jocelyn's baby)**

**Hi.**

**Chapter 8:**

Simon sat against the wall of his cell. He didn't know how long he had been here, and he hadn't heard from the voice since the first time.

Scratch that; here it was now.

_You must be bored, Shadowhunter._

Simon stood up, bracing one hand on the wall.

_Well? Are you?_

Simon looked around for hidden cameras, or for a speaker.

_Answer me._

Simon found his voice.

"Um, yeah. A little. All there is in here is a gray floor and a gray ceiling and four gray walls."

_Well then, we'll have to fix that, won't we?_

It laughed. The voice was starting to sound familiar.

One of the walls shimmered and became a picture of his friends. But no, it was not a picture. It was moving. He could see Alec and Izzy bending over something – was that Jace – and Alec yelling.

_It's a live feed. Whoever you want to see, whenever you want to see, whatever you want to see, it's there._

The rest of the Nephilim had come running, and they were all bent over Jace. Alec hoisted him up and they started walking down the hall.

_Don't they teach you manners?_

"Oh, um… thanks."

A section of wall next to him extended and a platform holding a box of tissues popped out.

_You'll need it._

It laughed.

**-o-**

Jace opened his eyes. Everything was blurry, and Alec's face loomed above him. He tried to sit up, but Alec held him down. Izzy came into view.

Jace rested his head back. Alec shouted something, Jace didn't know what, but he was in a state of peace for the first time since he was a little boy, and so he let himself let go.

**-o-**

Izzy sat by Jace's bed in the infirmary. He had been unconscious for a week, but Magnus assured them that he was very much alive.

"He's definitely alive, just not awake. He's got to fight to survive this. I don't know what happened, but be grateful he wasn't taken like Simon."

Izzy screamed. "THEN WHY ISN'T HE AWAKE? I KNOW JACE, I _KNOW_ HIM, AND IF HE WAS ALIVE, HE WOULD'VE WOKEN UP _DAYS_ AGO BECAUSE HE'S A FIGHTER, AND HE WON'T STOP FIGHTING UNTIL HE GETS WHAT HE WANTS!"

Magnus looked at her sincerely. "Exactly."

It dawned on her. She turned and buried her face in Alec's neck, putting her arms around him. "No, no no no no no no no …"

"Are you saying…" Alec said slowly, "Are you saying that maybe Jace doesn't _want_ to come back to us?"

The old warlock turned to gaze at Jace. "He has found peace now," he said, not exactly answering the question.

It certainly looked like it. Jace's mouth was mostly straight, but at the corners they quirked up a little, so that he wasn't actually _smiling_, but he looked happy. His left arm was draped across his torso, while his right arm rested by his side. His breathing was slow and steady, always drawing in and letting out the same amount of air. His skin was the perfect color, not too pale or too flushed, and it was complimented by the black marks trailing up his arms. He had a healthy temperature, and seemed like he was sleeping.

In fact, he had every sign of being awake… except for a pulse.

"But you said he's alive," Izzy panicked.

"You don't need to die to find peace, Isabelle. He's awake.

"He's awake," Magnus said again quietly, then left.

Izzy burst into a fresh bout of tears.

Alec rubbed her back and told her it was alright.

"But it's not alright, it's _not!_" she cried. "We lost Max, we're losing Jace, our parents don't even talk to us, and if I lose _you, _then-" She paused. "Promise me you'll never go anywhere alone."

She raised her dark eyes to meet his blue ones.

"Please," she whispered.

"Only if you do the same," he said.

Izzy nodded.

"Then I promise, Iz. I promise."

"I promise, too."

They sat by Jace's bed until they couldn't stay awake anymore.

Then, they succumbed to their own peace.

**-o-**

Isabelle woke up, and straightaway, she made a beeline for the infirmary. She met Alec in the hall, and they continued.

They arrived to find Robert and Maryse sitting by Jace's bed.

They turned to face their children, with dark circles under their eyes and tired expressions on their faces. Izzy folded her arms, and Alec placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Just what do you think you're doing here?" Izzy said to Robert.

Robert looked surprised to hear that tone from his child. "Young lady, it would do you well to-"

"It would do you well to shut the hell up and go back to Idris and your petty little status, Inquisitor."

It wasn't Izzy, nor was it Alec.

It was a certain fashionable warlock with spiked hair and glitter on his nails.

Magnus stepped out from the hallway.

Robert turned to face Maryse. "You're letting _Downworlders_ just run around the Institute?"

"They are _not_ our enemy," she said in a quiet tone, so quiet Izzy had to strain to hear. "And this certain _Downworlder_ is your son's boyfriend and most likely your future son-in-law, so you'd better get used to it."

Robert threw his hands up in the air and swiveled to look at Magnus. "Warlock," he began. "You cannot speak to me that way, and-"

Magnus leaned against the wall, inspecting his nails. "I just did," he pointed out, his eyes shifting to the Inquisitor.

"Do not interrupt me, half-breed, or I-"

"I just did," Magnus said again.

Robert made a move to throttle the warlock, but Magnus just snapped his fingers, emitting blue sparks. Robert's hands were handcuffed.

He turned to Izzy and Alec and raised his eyebrow. "Well? What's his punishment, Your Honors?"

"Life sentence," Alec spoke up, a smirk on his face.

"Better yet, just put him in the electric chair," Izzy said.

Maryse gave her a stern look. "Okay, Magnus, let him up."

Sighing, Magnus obliged. Robert got to his feet and murdered Magnus – at least, he did in his mind.

"We need to talk. All of us. Except you," Robert said, pointing to Magnus.

"Hmmm…. I don't know. Alec, is our schedule open today?" Izzy asked.

"Actually, it's quite full. Today, we're worrying over a friend who's in a coma and another friend who's got anger problems and yet another who's been kidnapped. So no, we can't do today, why don't you come back in fifty years?" Alec said.

"Stop playing games. We're having a family discussion," Robert said, his face turning red.

"But sir," Alec said, "don't you need a family to have a family discussion?"

With that, the three pushed past the Lightwood parents and started inspecting Jace.

Robert stomped out of the door in a huff, leaving Maryse staring sadly at her children.

**So I hope you like it!**

**Has anyone else realized how many stories there are where Clary is abused at home, and then a "certain golden boy" saves her? Not trying to be offensive here, just saying there's a lot!**

**~Emma**


	10. Alec Shows his Gay Side

**I don't own The Mortal Instruments or its characters!**

**We're in the double digits now, guys! Even though we're only on chapter 9... The prologue messed everything up :B**

**Chapter 9:**

Alec finished showering in his room at the Institute. He got out and wrapped a towel around himself, making his way to the bathroom door so he could put on clothes. He opened the door and made his way to his dresser.

He had just put on a pair of boxers and was starting to slide on jeans when he heard a voice.

"You can leave them off if you want," Magnus said, reclining on Alec's bed.

Alec whirled around. "What the…" he trailed off when he saw who it was. Ignoring Magnus's proposal, he buttoned the jeans and walked to his closet.

"Or you can put them on. Doesn't matter to me, I'm a warlock," Magnus said. Alec looked down to see that he was once again in his boxers. He glared at Magnus.

"What?" he asked innocently, waving the jeans in the air. "Honestly, don't you ever get bored of jeans? You should try yoga pants."

"Magnus, I'm pretty sure yoga pants are for girls," Alec said, taking the jeans back and putting them on.

"Oh," Magnus said. "Well, they should be unisex."

Alec laughed and kissed Magnus's forehead. "You can just start your own line," he suggested.

"Alexander, that's a wonderful idea! You can model for my commercials-"

"Okay, forget I said anything."

Alec put on a black t-shirt.

"Thanks for standing up to my father," Alec said quietly.

"You did pretty well yourself," Magnus said with all seriousness.

"Yeah, but I can never initiate it. I just jump on the bandwagon," Alec admitted, sitting on the edge of the bed by Magnus's chest.

"You're a peacemaker, Alexander," Magnus said. "Unless there's a demon around. Then you turn into a badass superhero."

"You're pretty badass yourself," Alec said, smirking. "Glitter rain and blue sparks everywhere, your cat sidekick prancing beside you."

"Chairman Meow is _not_ a sidekick. He's a full-fledged superhero."

Alec snorts. "Like a Cat Man. But Man Cat."

Magnus's phone rang.

"I still can't get over your ringtone," Alec said, laughing harder. Magnus had developed an obsession with the Spice Girls, and his ringtone was 'Wannabe'.

Magnus answered. "Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn speaking."

He listened for a moment.

"I'm in the middle of something right now," he said.

"He's not," Alec said loud enough for whoever was on the other end to hear.

Magnus swatted him. "Fine," Magnus said. "Give me a couple of minutes."

Magnus hung up.

"Who was that?" Alec asked.

"That," Magnus said, "was Tessa Gray."

"I guess you have to go."

"I wouldn't have to go if you hadn't told her I wasn't doing anything."

"It's fine," Alec said. "I should probably check on Izzy."

Izzy hadn't left Jace's side except to sleep. Alec still kept up his personal hygiene.

"Ugh, fine."

Magnus sat up to kiss Alec, then left.

Alec slid on a belt and some socks. He went to the hall and started walking. Then he discovered what it was like to walk on a wood floor with only socks on his feet. He slid down the hall, twirling and laughing.

Izzy ran out of the infirmary and saw Alec, then went back in and closed the door.

Alec was too busy to notice.

**-o-**

Simon was surfing channels on his TV, as he decided to call it. He had been rotating through all of his friends and went to the Alec channel (there wasn't really an Alec channel, but he decided to call the different feeds channels.)

It went to Alec, and Simon saw he was in the shower and screamed. "Turn it off, turn it off, go to Isabelle!"

When he dared to look again, Izzy and Jace filled the screen.

He relaxed. Izzy's eyes were bloodshot, as they had been the last few times he had checked on her. She sat on the edge of the chair by Jace's bed.

Simon thought she might never leave.

Simon went to the 'Clary channel'. Clary was sketching in her apartment, same as always. He saw she was sketching him, but before he had become a Shadowhunter, because he was wearing glasses.

The drawing of him looked almost complete, but he wondered why he only took up half the page. There was a big empty space next to him.

Clary leaned back and regarded it. She started drawing in the empty space. It was too soon to tell what it was, so Simon switched to check on his mom.

**-o-**

Everything was dark, but it was not a scary dark. He caught flashes of blue eyes and dark hair, floating around him, watching.

_Be strong. The final test is yet to come…_

**-o-**

Isabelle looked up as her brother entered the infirmary.

"Having fun?" Izzy asked.

"You should try it," Alec said, gesturing to his feet.

He took a seat next to her.

"Izzy, we don't have anything to do," Alec said. "Why don't we just see what our parents have to say?"

"_Fine_," Izzy said.

They got up and went to the library. Robert was pacing by the window, and Maryse sat in an armchair, staring into the empty fireplace.

"We're here," Izzy spat. "Talk."

Robert shared a glance with his wife.

"You will not like what we have to say," Maryse began.

"We never do," Izzy retorted.

Alec intervened. "If this is only going to make us more upset, then don't bother."

"Okay," Maryse said.

**-o-**

The voice whispered through the darkness, always there, but not always there.

_Take care of them for me…_

**-o-**

Clary's phone rang. She picked up.

"Hello?"

"Clary?" Izzy's sounded worried. "Something's happened with Jace."

**Sorry for the short and rubbish chapter… **

**~Emma**


	11. Isabelle Calls People Stupid

**I don't own anything except for the storyline!**

**Chapter 10:**

Isabelle had been sitting by Jace's bedside, eyes closed, when she had heard the sheets rustle. She opened her eyes to see Jace was standing.

"Jace?" she cried. "Oh my god. Are you okay?"

But Jace ignored her he started walking. Izzy screamed for Alec. He came running.

"Jace," he said. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Jace called. Alec looked at Izzy, but she just stared, hands over her mouth. "What's the final test?"

"I didn't say anything about a-" Alec started.

"Take care of who?" Jace said, stumbling to the window.

"Jace," Izzy said.

"Who are you?" Jace asked.

Jace made it to the window. "Who are you?" he asked again. "Come back," his voice cracked. "Please."

Alec looked at Izzy again. Before they could do anything, Jace laid back down in the bed again. Same position, facial expression… as if nothing had happened.

"Call Clary," Alec said. "Magnus is out right now, so we'll just have to watch him."

**-o-**

"Thanks for coming," Tessa said.

Magnus waved a hand. "Anything for an old friend," he said.

They were sitting on a park bench in Central Park. Tessa was wearing a long sundress. She still wasn't used to the new fashion, but she tried to be comfortable by wearing things similar to what she used to wear. The dress was close, even though it wasn't long-sleeved. It was a little hot, anyway. It was never this hot in London.

"So what do you need?" he asked.

"Well," she began. "I need advice. For a few matters, actually. I know you can help with two of them."

"Ask away," he said.

"How do you love a Shadowhunter," she swallowed, "when you know they're going to die?"

Magnus took a bite of a hot dog he had just teleported to his hand. "Jem?" he asked casually.

Tessa turned pink, but managed a nod.

"I think," said Magnus, taking another bite and chewing thoughtfully, "I think you just… 'Live for the present' as they say. You enjoy it while it's still there, you have fun, and you tuck away the thought of death in the very farthest corners of your mind." He watched sadly as a young couple walked by, the girl wearing the guy's baseball cap, the guy's arm around the girl, both smiling. "And when they die, you mourn them. And remember."

"But how do you bear it?"

"There is no possible way to bear the death of someone you love."

Tessa gave him an odd look.

"While you're together, you make happy memories. You remember places fondly, so when they die, you don't need to run away. You find solace in the memories." He gave her a sideways glance. "You ran away when William died."

"I tried to forget him," she whispered in a hollow voice, almost in disbelief. "I can't believe I thought I could forget Will Herondale."

Magnus shakes his head. "Everyone tries to forget, but it only causes more pain in the long run."

He was silent for a few minutes.

"You should never forget," he said.

**-o-**

Clary flew into the infirmary faster than she had ever gone before. She rushed to Jace's side. Alec filled her in on what had happened.

"It was _so _weird," Izzy said. "He didn't acknowledge us at all, just kept talking to whoever he saw."

"Something about a final test and people he had to protect," Alec said, shaking his head.

"We still don't know what the hell happened to him," Izzy said.

"Someone must," Clary said softly. She reached her fingers out and caressed Jace's cheek. Remembering how he had run from her, she withdrew.

"I don't think it's good for me to be here," Clary said, backing away. "I'll be in the library if you need me."

"Clary, you're his girlfriend, why isn't it good for you to be here?" Izzy asked.

"This is all my fault," Clary said, tears welling in her eyes. She didn't know why, but it was.

"How is this your fault?" Alec asked.

"It just is, okay?" she answered. "Trust me."

**-o-**

Suddenly, the darkness was overwhelming. There were no blue eyes or calm voice to part it.

Where had he gone?

The darkness was just too much for him to bear.

**-o-**

"Izzy, look," Alec whispered, pointing to Jace.

No longer was he peaceful. His mouth was a grimace, his breathing rushed and heavy. He twitched every few seconds. A groan escaped his mouth. Sweat gathered on his forehead as he twisted. He let out an anguished cry, sitting up straight in the bed, eyes flying open. His chest rose and fell quickly, the sweat coming down in rivulets. The roots of his hair were soaked, and he gripped the sheets of the bed so tight that his knuckles were white. Alec pressed ice to Jace's forehead, but it caused Jace to spasm. Izzy traced a rune onto his arm with fresh tears in her eyes, and he fell back to the mattress, eyes closed once again.

**-o-**

Simon could not stand to see Isabelle cry again. He stood at the TV and pressed his hand to her face.

"Isabelle," he murmured.

**-o-**

Isabelle was crying again. Stupid Jace. Stupid Clary.

But most of all, stupid Simon.

She lifted her face to the ceiling, tears falling in earnest. She felt something on her cheek. Something warm. At first, she assumed it was a tear, but it stayed there, and it was too big.

She wiped her face, but the feeling was still there.

**-o-**

Simon watched, as, after he touched her face, she wiped it, looking confused.

Had she felt it?

**-o-**

**Hope you guys are enjoying! **

**If you have any ideas for the plot, let me know!**

**Also, hello to all those people who are reading in foreign countries, such as China and Saudi Arabia! **

**Keep reviewing!**

**My updates will be fewer now because I have multiple stories (check them out!). However, I will definitely update at least twice a week on all of them.**

**~Emma**


	12. Simon is Obnoxious on Live TV

**Hello again! Thanks for coming back to read this story. I'm well aware that there are much better ones out there (one of my absolute favorites is **_**The Final Reminder**_** by AngelWithASeraphBlade)**

**In case you haven't noticed, I decided to name my chapters! **

**Rights go to Cassandra Clare!**

**Chapter 11: Simon is Obnoxious on Live TV**

Alec sat in the infirmary with Isabelle. Clary leaned against the wall by the door, as far away from Jace as possible. Magnus walked in rubbing his forehead.

"Okay, here's the deal," he said. "Jace needs sustenance to survive. I'm not a doctor, so I don't know how to work the fancy hospital machines that transport fluids and other healthy stuff to your body."

"So, you're saying," Clary started. She was starting to tear up. "He's dying?"

"Not yet," Magnus sighed.

"What about Catarina?" Alec questioned. "She works at the hospital. She must know how."

"I asked her. She said she has a building full of patients to attend to, and she won't spare time just for the life of one Shadowhunter."

Izzy looked murderous. "Maybe she'll spare time for the life of herself."

"However," Magnus continued, "she did say that she could teach one of you to use it."

"Where would we even get one to use?" Alec asked.

"I'm a warlock," Magnus said, waving his fingers.

"So who wants to learn?" Alec asked.

Everyone glared at each other. After a few minutes, Izzy agreed.

"Fine."

Magnus looked relieved. "Tomorrow, one o'clock sharp, she said."

"Why can't I choose the time?" Izzy asked snarkily.

"Isabelle," Magnus looked at her serenely, "You can choose if you want Jace to live or die."

**-o-**

Simon paced his cell. This was a scientific discovery. Well, probably not.

He turned the screen to his friends again. He poked Alec in the chest lightly. No reaction. He poked again, harder. Alec looked down at his shirt, his brow furrowed. Shrugging it off, he returned to the discussion.

Hmm.

Simon flicked Magnus's hair with his fingers. Magnus jerked up and looked around. He eyed Clary suspiciously before turning back around.

Interesting.

_Can I move things? _Simon wondered. He spotted a tiny clump of dust on the floor. It was small enough that no one would notice it moving. He touched it. He could move it by pushing, but could he pick it up? He held it in his hand. He assumed his hand was just invisible, then. It didn't appear anyone was freaking out because there was a disembodied hand lying on the floor.

_Maybe,_ he thought, _I could just walk out. And be all invisible and stuff._

He tried walking through the screen. He actually made it. "HA!" he yelled.

Then, as if there was a huge vacuum behind him, he was sucked back through the screen.

He tried it several more times, but it always ended that way.

Simon knew this was a time to be serious, but he started joking around with it. He slapped Jace across the face (not that Jace could feel it, he was in an effing coma), he ripped tissues and threw them into the air. He even convinced himself to try and kiss Alec on the cheek, but he was pulled back before he could do it.

Simon remembered what the voice had said.

_Whoever you want to see, whenever you want to see, whatever you want to see._

Hmmm. This could be fun.

The demon hadn't said wherever. Could he see what had happened when he had gone to the demon realms?

He tried. It actually worked.

All humor gone, he sat.

And watched.

**-o-**

Magnus felt something touch his hair. He whirled around, but the only one there was Clary.

_Little midget,_ he thought endearingly, _was that her?_

He let it go and turned back to the matter at hand.

What he had not told the others was that he could actually see Jace's soul. Sometimes, when he was healing someone, or when they were sick, their body glowed. Magnus knew it was their soul. This was part of the reason he was such a great healer.

Depending on how bright the glow is, it tells you how far gone they are. The brighter the glow, the farther they've gone. Most people think otherwise.

Jace….

His soul had been a roller coaster. It was bright one moment, dull the next. At the moment, it was not terribly dull or bright, but it was in the middle. If Magnus had to choose between the two, he would say it's on the bright side. But every passing minute, it grew brighter.

Magnus also knew something else.

Simon was, somehow, partly in this dimension. He could see him, but it was like a silhouette of Simon. He had been hanging around the last few days, but Magnus could see him more clearly now. Messing around, throwing stuff, taking dust off the floor, and almost kissing Alec. Of course, if he had gone that far, Magnus would've had to step in. No one was allowed to kiss Alec.

**-o-**

**Review!**

**~Emma**


	13. Isabelle has a Foul Mouth

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while… I started a new story and got some positive response, so I updated it a few times. But I'M BACK!**

**For the last (not really) time, I don't own the Mortal Instruments! Now stop asking!**

**WARNING: Language in this chapter!**

**Chapter 12: **

Isabelle Lightwood was waiting for Catarina Loss. She stood at the reception desk, glancing at her watch. This was seriously a waste of time, but if it would help Jace, she would do it.

Finally, Catarina showed up. She looked tired, as if she'd been on call all night, but then had to work again in the morning. She led Izzy to an uninhabited room.

"This is an infusion pump," she told Izzy. "It basically infuses fluids, medications, or nutrients into the circulatory system. They can inject arterially, intravenously, epidurally or subcutaneously. Unlike other hospitals, we usually use an epidural or subcutaneous injection. Of course, it depends on the patient, but that's what we usually do."

"What?" Izzy asked. "I don't speak hospital language."

Catarina sighed. "We inject beneath the skin, or within the surface of the central nervous system."

"Moving on," Izzy said.

**-o-**

Tessa, Magnus, Alec, and Clary were in the library, thinking about how to go about bringing Simon back.

"It's not like he just disappeared off the face of the planet," Alec said.

"Well," Magnus pointed out, "he could have been taken to a demon realm."

"Are you serious?" Clary asked, her face pale.

"I mean, it could happen, but I doubt it," Magnus added hastily.

"Think," Alec said. "If I was kidnapped, where would I be?"

"If you were kidnapped, I would have already saved you," Magnus said, kissing Alec's cheek and causing him to turn red.

Tessa regarded them. "I'm not sure that's the question we need to be asking," she said. "We should be asking who Simon's enemies are. Has anyone tried to kill him, or take something from him?"

"When he wore the Mark of Cain, everyone tried to kill him," Clary said.

"Asmodeus wanted his memories," Alec remembered.

"He took them," Clary said, nodding. "But then we gave them back. Do you think…?"

"Maybe he noticed," Alec said. "Maybe he's the one who kidnapped him. He was angry that we double-crossed him."

"Well, he wasn't exactly fond of us in the first place," Magnus said. He rubbed his temple.

"Maybe he's been taken to…Edom? Is that Asmodeus's realm?" Tessa asked.

Clary nodded. "It's a possibility, I guess."

"But we don't know," Alec summed up. "We're back to square one."

"Basically," Magnus said.

"You can't do anything without me, can you?" said an amused voice from the hallway.

"Jace!" Clary exclaimed.

Jace walked in and clapped Alec on the back.

"Stupid, the lot of you," he said with a smile.

"Oh, and I suppose _you_ know where Simon is?" Magnus asked hotly.

"Not exactly," Jace weaseled. Alec let out a laugh.

Clary excused herself to call Izzy.

**-o-**

Catarina was explaining how to use the machine. She was telling Izzy about the physics involved then the girl's phone rang.

Izzy picked up. "Hello?"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"I'm coming back right now."

Izzy hung up and glanced at Catarina.

"Have fun with that, Cat."

**-o-**

**Here comes that language I warned you about…**

"JONATHAN HERONDALE!"

"Shit," Jace gulped. "Yes, Izzy?"

"HOW DARE YOU! YOU MOTHER FUCKING SON OF A GODDAMN BITCH!"

Jace stood nervously.

"DID YOU THINK ABOUT US AT ALL WHILE YOU WERE STUCK IN THAT FUCKING SLUMBER WORTHY OF SLEEPING BEAUTY? OR DID YOU JUST THINK ABOUT YOURSELF WANTING TO HAVE PEACE? WE'RE SHADOWHUNTERS, JACE! WE DON'T GET ANY PEACE!"

"Did you compare me to Sleeping Beauty?" Jace asked nervously. "How kind of you."

"YOU ARE SUCH AN ASSHOLE!"

"I am?"

**End of language!**

And then came the remake of 'the shot heard around the world.' Except, it was more like 'the slap heard around the library that leaves a fire truck red handprint on Jace's face.'

"It's redder than Alec's face when I make dirty comments in public," Magnus noted.

**-o-**

Clary stood outside of Jace's bedroom door. She raised her hand to the door, then thought better of it. She needed to sort herself out. She spent a few minutes inhaling and exhaling, trying to find her inner peace. Before long, she knew that she was not going to find it unless she spoke to Jace. She took a breath and knocked.

He opened it, shirtless, with a bag of ice pressed to his face.

"Um," Clary said. She totally forgot what she had been going to say. "Um."

Jace sighed and opened the door wider. "We should probably talk."

Oh, right. That's what she had been going to say. She managed a nod and went inside.

Jace closed the door softly behind her. He sighed again and ran a hand through his golden hair. "So," he said.

"So," she agreed.

"Look, Clary, I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?" she said carefully. She honestly didn't know why he had run from her.

He let out a breath. "I couldn't stand it. You were always snapping at people, yelling, being angry. I didn't think you were pregnant, but I had Izzy make sure. When I knew you weren't, but you kept acting that way, I didn't understand. And then, the night you snapped at Simon… it was too much."

"I'm sorry, too," Clary said. "I don't know what's going on with me."

They sat in silence for a little while, until, eventually, Clary asked, "Are we still getting married?"

"What?" Jace asked in disbelief.

"Do you still love me?" she asked, tracing patterns on Jace's sheets.

"Clary," he said, tilting her head up to stare into her eyes. "Don't you remember what I said during your first visit to Idris? I will always love you, Clary. There isn't a thing in the world you could do to make me not love you." He smiled. "Even if you killed the Lightwoods, I know that a small part of me would still love you, no matter what I told myself."

The beginnings of a smile stretched across Clary's features.

"I love you, too," she said. "I can't give a romantic speech like you, but one thing I can do is say that I love you."

The muscles in his chest rippled as Jace sat next to her on the bed and pulled her onto his lap, encircling her with his arms. Clary leaned forward to press her lips to his. She ran her hands up his chest to rest on his shoulders, and Jace did the same to Clary's back. He had just deepened the kiss when a bang sounded in the hallway, and Jace's door rattled, followed by the sound of stomping feet.

Jace broke away and laughed. "Izzy will never get over it," he said.

"She will," Clary said.

"I WON'T!" came a shout from down the hall.

Laughing, the couple went to sleep.

**-o-**

**Again, sorry for the late update!**

**YAYY Clace is back! And don't worry, Izzy's temper is only temporary!**

**Has anyone read the Touch series by Laurie Faria Stolarz? It's really good, but there's no section of fanfiction for it :( It's a crime! But seriously, it's really good. I'm about halfway through the series. **

**REVIEWWWW!**

**~Emma**


	14. Cocoa Puff Nut Unicorns

**WARNING: courtesy of our dear Izzy and Jace, we will be observing some bad language in this chapter! **

**Chapter 13: **

"WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

Clary sat straight up at the sound of the harsh voice. Isabelle stood in Jace's bedroom, a bucket of ice water in her hand. Jace was sitting up next to Clary, and Izzy tossed the water at him.

"Have a nice morning," Izzy said, waving as she left. "Oh, and we're going demon hunting," she said, popping back inside.

"What the frick frack paddy whack cracker jack flip flap crap cake goddamn shitload of lumberjack fuck?" Jace spluttered.

"Are you referring to what just came out of your mouth?" Clary asked.

"What in the world of lollipop frop gummy drop top cocoa puff nut unicorns?" he continued.

"Um."

"What the-"

"Okay," Clary intervened. "At least we don't have to shower."

"A shame," he said, grinning.

**-o-**

As Izzy waited for the others to get ready, she heard some odd noises coming from around the corner of the hallway. She cautiously made her way around the corner and blanched.

Alec and Magnus were locking lips in a very intense battle for dominance. She careened away and went back the way she came, only to see the exact same thing, but with Jace and Clary. She yelled in frustration. Jace and Clary leaped apart as Alec came rushing down the hall, followed by Magnus.

"What's wrong?" Alec asked.

"What's wrong?" she repeated. "I just walked around a corner and found BOTH of my brothers engaged in serious displays of sickening affection!"

Jace's face turned red as he collapsed with laughter. Clary hid her smile behind her hand.

"Like I've never walked in on you," Alec protested, but his face was slightly red.

"Besides," Magnus said, "we were only kissing." He gave Alec a playful look. "Alec claims he's not ready for public sex. Or nudity."

Jace nearly died laughing as Alec's face went two shades darker than crimson.

"Oh my god," Jace wheezed. "Oh my god."

"Please," Alec attempted at redemption. "Like you've ever done it."

"Actually," Jace started, "this one time-"

"GAHHH!" Izzy screamed. "SPARE US!"

"Oh, Izzy," Clary said fondly. "I remember a time when you were the one saying dirty things."

"Well, that time ended when my boyfriend was brainwashed," Izzy said.

"Sorry," Jace grinned. "What can I say? My love is like diarrhea. I can't hold it in."

**-o-**

The Shadowhunters – and Magnus – wandered the city all day. They hadn't found any demons, and it was getting late. Clary noticed that they were walking by Pandemonium, the club where she had seen her first glimpse of the Shadow World. She pointed it out, and the group made their way inside. Surprisingly, it was not that crowded. It was crowded the way that a mall would be crowded, but it wasn't so crowded that you literally had to wade through.

Going in proved to be a good choice; only five minutes later, Alec had spotted a demon.

A few minutes later, Izzy drove a seraph blade into the demon, and it disintegrated. And _that's_ when the rest of them came. About twenty demons in all, which meant that for every Shadowhunter (and Magnus), there were four demons.

Izzy lashed out first; flicking her whip across the front lines, she took out one. The rest surrounded the small group, and all hell broke loose. Clary weaved through her friends and the demons, stabbing and slicing, using her small size to her advantage. Jace and Alec were back to back, ducking and whirling and hacking. Magnus stood lazily, sparks flowing through his fingertips to at least four demons at once. Izzy was the fiercest; she cracked her whip time and time again, holding her seraph blade in her free hand. Eventually, she ran out of demons, and began killing the ones attacking the others. She knew she was injured; somewhere along her arm, there was an intense pain, but she fought through it.

And then the fighting ceased. There were no demons to be seen.

Izzy stood in fighting stance; whip in one hand and blade in the other, her eyes blazing a clear message: _I will kill you._

"Izzyyyy," Jace complained. "You killed my demons. No fair."

_Of course,_ Clary thought. Jace just wanted to kill.

Jace and Alec went to get celebratory drinks from the bar while Magnus 'mingled' with the mundanes. Clary excused herself to go to the bathroom, leaving Izzy alone.

**-o-**

Simon panicked. A demon was sneaking up behind Izzy. She didn't see it; it crept closer and closer.

**-o-**

Clary met up with Jace and Alec as she made her way back to Izzy. They were still a few yards away from her when the air shimmered.

**-o-**

He reached his hand in and took hold.

**-o-**

A hand took hold of Izzy's wrist.

She started. "What the-"

"LANGUAGE!" came a cry. A face materialized above the hand, then a body.

"SIMON? WHAT THE-"

"LANGUAGE!"

"What are you, ten?"

"He's Jewish," Jace interrupted.

"That has nothing to do with it," Simon spluttered.

"SIMON!" Clary screamed.

Simon's eyes darted nervously to something behind Izzy. He took the seraph blade out of her hand and threw it. It landed with a thud in the chest of a demon.

"Okay, what the-" Jace started.

"DUDE! WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!"

Jace sighed. "I was _going_ to say 'frick frack paddy whack cracker jack flip flap crap cake goddamn shitload of lumberjack fuck.'"

"DID I NOT JUST WARN YOU ABOUT BAD LANGUAGE? THERE COULD BE LITTLE KIDS AROUND!"

Jace looked around skeptically. "We're in a club," he said.

Simon started to be pulled back by some invisible force. Since he was holding onto Izzy, she went with him. Clary grabbed hold of Izzy and pulled. She was soon joined by Alec and Jace, and then Magnus hurried over and gave a vial of frothy yellow liquid to Jace.

"Throw it at him!" Magnus said.

"Why can't you?" Jace asked.

"I've gotta use the bathroom!"

Jace rolled his eyes and threw the vial. It exploded on Simon and Izzy.

And no one could have guessed what happened next…

**-o-**

**UGH SO PISSED RIGHT NOW**

**Cuz Neymar's not playing the semi-finals against Germany ugh BAD BAD BAD news…**

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**

**I didn't mean to offend any Jews!**

**Ugh. How long does it take for a fractured vertebra to heal?**

**~Emma**


	15. Magnus Lacks Organizational Skills

**Chapter 14: Magnus Lacks Organizational Skills**

_And no one could have guessed what happened next… _ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! :D

"IS THERE A REASON YOU JUST THREW A BOTTLE OF PISS AT ME?" Simon screamed, as Izzy gagged from the stench.

"Magnus," Jace prompted.

Magnus fumbled through his bag, eventually coming up with two more vials. One was a rich, bubbly purple liquid, and the other was a fine gray powder.

"I really have to go to the bathroom," he panted. "One of these will work."

"ONE of them?" Jace asked, but Magnus had already gone.

Jace shrugged and threw the purple one. Again, nothing happened. He threw the gray powder, and Simon flew free of the force holding him back. He landed on the ground panting.

"EWWWW," Izzy groaned, holding her arms stiff and as far away from her body as possible. "I hope this wasn't Magnus's…"

"It's the Chairman's," Alec said. "Magnus was supposed to take a sample to the vet, but I guess he forgot…" He shrugged.

Izzy blanched. "So I'm covered in cat fluids."

"At least Simon's okay," Clary said.

"I'm not okay," he said. "I am ALSO covered in cat pee, and it's not the most pleasant smell in the world."

"Cat pee?" Magnus inquired, having returned to the group. "Why do you think it's cat pee?"

"You mean this isn't the Chairman's pee?" Izzy asked, her face turning green.

"Don't worry, I was kidding," Magnus soothed.

"Why don't we go back to the Institute?" Clary suggested. "Izzy and Simon can get cleaned up and shower-"

"Together," Jace snickered.

Clary whacked him on the arm as Simon's and Izzy's faces went bright red.

**Next -o- Morning**

Clary woke up the next morning. She was still stretching when someone jumped on her and pressed his lips to hers. She relaxed, opening her eyes to look into a pair of brown eyes and-

Wait. Brown eyes?

"What the fuck are you doing?" Clary shrieked.

"Can't I give my fiancée a good-morning kiss?" he answered, confused.

"_Jace_ is my fiancée!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah," Simon said. "I _am_ Jace!"

"No you're not! You're Simon!"

"_What_ did you just call me?" he asked, horrified.

He leaped off the bed to look in a mirror. "EWWW! CLARY! I'M HIDEOUS!" He stared into the mirror, transfixed. "My beautiful, luscious golden locks… they're GONE! And now I have this un-conditioned dull brown hair! I'm disgusting! And look at my eyes! LOOK, CLARY! I'M UGLY! Wow, I never thought I'd say that."

"Simon, what are you talking about? You've always had brown hair!"

Simon grabbed her shoulders and shook her, a look of panic on his face. "Don't be fooled by my ugly exterior! It's me, Jace!"

Clary regarded him, and decided she believed him. After all, Simon knew that she didn't have romantic feelings toward him.

"Let's go find Simon in your body," she said.

**A/N: When I say Jace, I mean -o- Jace in Simon's body, etc.**

Clary and Jace walked into the kitchen and found Simon in Jace's body putting toast in the toaster.

"Uh," he said when he saw Jace in Simon's body. "Did you guys clone me or something?" His eyes grew wide in excitement. "Are we doing the Clone Wars? Can I-"

"I assume you haven't realized yet?" Clary sighed and held up a spoon.

Simon grabbed the spoon from her hands and gaped at his reflection. "Ewwwwwww!" he cried. "I look like a cocky, arrogant asshole!"

Jace sighed. "And I look like a piece of shit that someone threw out."

Izzy walked in and kissed Simon in Jace's body on the cheek. "Morning, brother. I've decided to forgive you for falling into a coma." She picked up a knife and began cutting up a grapefruit.

Simon stiffened with surprise at her touch.

"What's with you guys?" Izzy asked.

"Uhm," Clary said. "Jace and Simon switched bodies."

Izzy's knife clattered to the counter. She pointed to Simon with horror. "You mean YOU'RE Simon?"

"Yes?" Simon answered.

Izzy furiously wiped her hand over her mouth repeatedly.

"Hurtful," Simon muttered.

"Mothafucka," she said. "You all planned this, didn't you? I take my forgiveness back, ratchets."

"I am no ratchet," Simon said. He looked down at himself. "Well, I suppose that I am at this moment in time."

"Is that an insult?" Jace asked.

"I'm basically saying you're conceited."

Jace nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "I think it had to do with that purple potion that Magnus gave me," Jace mused.

"Jace, where did you put my Hello Kitty-" Alec froze when he saw that there were other people. "I mean…" he quickly left the room.

"This sucks so hard," Jace complained.

"Yeah," Simon agreed, but in his head, he knew that this could be the perfect revenge.

**-o-**

Clary was working on a sketch when she heard a very odd noise in the hall. She poked her head out of her room and found Simon in Jace's body cackling.

"Simon?" she asked hesitantly.

He turned to face her.

"Holy fuuuuuuuuuuu…" she yelped.

Simon grinned. He had obviously been in Izzy's and Magnus's makeup collections. His hair was glittery and messed up badly. There were various colors of lipstick drawn on his face. His eyes were heavily outlined in black, and the rest of his face was a bright, ugly rainbow of colors. He was wearing long floor length skirt as well, and a bra, no shirt. Clary didn't know where he got it, and she wasn't going to ask.

"Yes?" he asked innocently. He spoke with an odd lilt. It sounded like 'YeAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAs'.

"Have you been watching that crack kid vine again?" Clary asked worriedly.

"No," he said. 'NaOOOOOOOOOO' is a more accurate word.

"What are you doing?" she asked cautiously.

"Exercising my revenge," he said.

Clary figured she'd better not get involved. She nodded, her eyes wide and eyebrows raised, and ducked back inside.

**-o-**

**I seriously can't wait to write the next chapter!**

**~Emma**


	16. Jace Goes Viral

**So… Germany defeated Brazil. 7-1. Excuse me while I cry and write this chapter for you guys.**

**BUT the MCPE update! TOMORROW!**

**Chapter 15: Jace Goes Viral**

Simon (still in Jace's make-up model body) walked into Starbucks. "Back off, bitches, I own this joint!" he announced as he walked in. One of the women in front of him stared at him.

"Problem? You got a problem? No, you ain't, cause no one's got a problem with Queen Jace. Now back off, I gotta get mah mocha."

He snapped his fingers, but they still stared at him. He sighed and walked up to the counter. Winking at the barista, he took the drink that she was handing to someone. "Java chip," he said, nodding approvingly. He saluted as he went back to the sidewalk.

"Girl, you ratchet," he said, passing some teenage girl and dumping his coffee on her.

"What you call me?" the girl said, and as she stood, Simon saw that it was actually a guy.

"I call ratchet," he answered.

"No call ratchet me," the man said.

"I call ratchet you," Simon insisted.

They bickered back and forth for a few minutes.

"You call ratchet me," the man gave up. He sighed and walked away. "I coffee wet."

Simon entered the grocery store and immediately knocked over an aisle. This wouldn't have been possible, but Simon had applied about fifteen strength runes, so they tipped like dominoes.

"CALL ME! HERE'S MY NAME, ADRESS, AND PHONE NUMBER!" he yelled to one of the cashiers. He threw a paper containing Jace's information on the ground after him. He then promptly found a little kid and paid him twenty bucks to punch him in the face a few times.

"HEHEHEEEEEE!" Simon cackled as he caught sight of the NBC Nightly News van. "MWAHAHAHA!"

**-o-**

Izzy, Alec, Jace, Clary, and Magnus were all eating dinner in front of the TV, but it wasn't on.

Simon sidled into the room, the makeup and clothes gone from Jace's body.

"Heeeey, guys," he said, doing his best to suppress a grin. "Let's watch the news!"

Clary shrugged and turned on the TV. Apparently someone had destroyed a grocery store.

"We hand it over to Lester Holt," Brian Williams said, and the camera went to a man standing outside the store.

"Thank you, Brian. Today, after stealing from Starbucks and initiating an argument with a teenage boy, Jace Herondale destroyed the grocery stor-"

Clary groaned. A make-up covered Jace tackled Lester, and took the microphone. "Thank you, Lester," he said smiling. "Breaking news! A special guest has agreed to do an exclusive interview with me here today! We are interviewing Jace's butt!"

Everyone in the room started cracking up, except Jace. He gaped at the screen, watching himself turn around and hold the microphone to his ass.

"Hello, Jace's butt! How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing great, thanks!" Simon said in a tiny voice.

"So tell us," Simon said. "What are some secrets that no one but Jace would know?" Simon winked at the camera.

"You did not," Jace hissed at Simon.

"Well, I could tell you that he wears Barbie underwear," he continued in the tiny voice. "But when he thinks that someone could see it, like if he thinks that he and his girlfriend are gonna… you know, he wears normal black boxers. But when nobody's gonna see, he wears them proudly, because it makes him feel BEE-YOO-TEE-FUL!"

"Wow, we're learning some juicy secrets," Simon said.

"Also, Jace occasionally wears bras, much like the one you have on yourself," Jace's butt said.

"Oh, REALLY?" Simon said, wiggling his eyebrows. "Do tell."

"He says they attract girls more, because he has a 'defined chest'."

"Anything else you'd like to say?" Simon asked, faking eagerness.

"Whenever Jace sees a duck, he wets himself," Jace's butt informed the country.

"And now, let's talk to Jace's butt about Jace's sex life-"

Clary quickly turned off the TV. Isabelle and Magnus were absolutely dying with laughter, and they were both crying. Izzy wiped a tear from her eyes.

"Why'd you turn it off?" Alec whined.

"Do you want to hear about my sex life?" Jace asked him.

"If you're butt's talking about it, then yes," Magnus said.

Izzy howled with laughter, and Simon looked quite pleased with himself.

"Yeah, so if the police come knocking…" Simon trailed off.

"Just don't show them your undies. Then they'll know for sure it's you," Magnus said, sending Izzy off on another round of laughter.

"Karma's a bitch," Simon said proudly.

"So are you," Jace scoffed.

"You guys wanna know the really funny thing?" Simon asked, a grin spreading across his features.

"YES!" Izzy cried.

"That stuff's all true," Simon said. "But the bra and underwear part was from when he was a teenager."

"Jesus Christ," Izzy moaned. "I just thought you had extremely large pecs."

"That stuff's old news," Alec lounged back on the sofa.

"Oh, you guys traded girly secrets," Clary said. "Jace with his Barbies, you with your Hello Kitty."

Alec went bright red.

"That's right," she said. "We all heard you this morning."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "I'm still hungry. Anyone want Chinese?"

Magnus snickered. "Sure. But no duck sauce, unless you're getting diapers for Jace."

"I only wear diapers for two reasons!" Jace exclaimed. Everyone stared at him.

"Uh, what reasons?" Clary asked.

Jace grinned. "Number 1, and Number 2."

Izzy nearly died again. She was gasping for air.

"Ohh, God," she moaned. "That's probably all over YouTube by now," she said, gesturing to the TV. "I'm gonna go watch the rest. Anyone wanna join?"

Magnus jumped up and followed her out of the room as Alec went to order Chinese.

**-o-**

After excusing himself to go to the bathroom, Simon snuck into the room, locking the door behind him. He pulled out Jace's cell, which he had stolen earlier. He quickly dialed Jocelyn's number.

"Jace? Hello?" she answered.

"Mrs. Fray, I'm sorry," Simon said.

"What?"

"Clary's pregnant."

"Why would you be sorry? That's amazing!" she gushed.

"I'm not the father," Simon sighed.

"WHAT?"

"His name was Adam. He told me he would keep her safe, but after I picked her up, we found out she was pregnant."

"YOU LEFT HER WITH A PERVERT?"

"I needed to get help. She was injured, so I left her with protection."

"YOU LEFT HER? INJURED?"

"HE SAID HE WOULD PROTECT HER!"

"AND YOU BELIEVED HIM?!"

"Mrs. Fray, I'm sorry…"

"LUKE!"

_Yes, _Simon thought.

There was hurried conversation on the other end of the line, until-

"JACE! YOU ASSHOLE! DO YOU KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO DO TO YOU? I'M GOING TO-"

Simon laughed silently as Luke continued to describe in detail what he was going to do to Jace.

**-o-**

**I've got a small case of writer's block;**

**See, I know exactly where I want the story to go. I've even started writing the last few chapters (you guys will hate me so much), but I just don't know how I'm going to get there. *sigh***

**On the bright side, I had a strike of inspiration literally an hour ago for a new TMI AU/AH story! I probably won't post it until I've finished one of my three stories I have in progress. For any of you who read my Nephilim Network story, I've decided to leave it as a one-shot. A lot of you guys reviewed and PMed me to make more chapters, and so I started one, but it wasn't working out. If you haven't read it, feel free :) I'm quite proud of it. It's very OOC and humorous, and every time I read it, I find myself cracking up, even though I wrote it. So yeah. Maybe if more people insist, I'll come back to it and hopefully inspiration will strike.**

**Germany vs. Argentina… I vote ARGENTINA! **


	17. Luke Loves CHAINSAWS!

**Chapter 16:**

"Clary! Clary, honey, where are you?" Clary heard her mother screaming from the entryway of the Institute.

She rushed downstairs. "Mom? What's wrong?"

Jocelyn embraced her daughter. "Can we speak to Adam? Where is he? Is he here? Will he help with the baby?"

"What?" Clary asked. "Who's Adam? What baby?"

Jocelyn blinked. "Adam. Your baby's father."

"WHAT?" Clary asked, shocked. "I'm not pregnant! Why would you think I was pregnant?"

"Well, Jace called us and…" Jocelyn trailed off.

Clary snorted, relieved. "That was Simon, mom. It was a prank."

"Oh, um," Jocelyn looked confused. "Well…"

"Mom, if I ever got pregnant, it would be Jace's baby," Clary said, exasperated.

"Oh," she said. "I-"

She was interrupted by Luke walking in. He had goggles over his eyes, and he was wearing gloves. He carried a chainsaw. "Where's Jace?"

**-o-**

Magnus held up the vial for the Nephilim to see. It was a super fine, red powder, and it shimmered slightly when exposed to light.

"What's the shimmery stuff?" Simon asked cautiously.

"Oh, that's just crushed sequitter," Magnus waved his hand. "It looked boring, so I had to add some pizzazz."

"Sequitter?" Jace questioned.

"Sequins combined with glitter," Alec said.

Jace stared at him.

"What?" Alec said defensively. "It's all over the apartment! I figured I should know what it is!"

"So, what do we do, again?" Simon cringed as he took the vial from Magnus and opened it. It smelled like an outdoor bathroom at a National Park. One of the ones that you can't flush, so everyone's crap just sits in a hole in the ground, collecting flies.

"Just eat a pinch," Magnus grinned. Jace sniffed the mixture.

"We have to _eat_ it?" he turned green as he said the words.

"No," Magnus sighed. "I just wanted to see if you would do it."

Magnus took a pinchful **(is that a word?)** and sprinkled it on Jace.

"Pretty," he said.

Jace pinched his nose. "Now do Simon," he said in a nasal voice.

"Why would I do that?" Magnus asked quizzically. "I just wanted to make you pretty."

"Okay, Magnus," Izzy sighed. "Just fix it."

Magnus rolled his eyes. He told Jace and Simon what to do. They each took some powder in their hands and threw it at each other.

"It's not immediately effective, much like the one that switched you in the first place."

Jace groaned. "So I still have to look like a twerp?"

"Yes," Magnus said. "Please don't cause any harm to your host bodies. They'll feel it when they switch back."

**-o-**

"Jace, where are you going?" Clary asked suspiciously as Simon's body walked past her room at the Institute.

"Oh, me?" he asked innocently. "I'm just going to go jump off the roof."

**-o-**

"Simon, where are you going?" Alec asked as Jace's body walked down the hall with a rifle over his shoulder.

"Oh, me?" he asked innocently. "I was just going to go shoot myself in the face. Wanna join? Don't worry, it's only a bebe. I wouldn't want Jace to DIE, because then he can't feel pain!"

**-o-**

Thankfully, Alec managed to wrestle the gun from Simon and tie him up. Clary was not as skilled…

Jace sprinted up the stairs to the roof and locked the door with a rune. He knew Clary would be able to get through it, but he figured he still had a few minutes to destroy Simon's body.

He was setting up a video camera to record it all, when a man came running towards him, a chainsaw already on.

"What the-"

He didn't have time to finish. He was forced to jump when the man kept advancing. "ASSHOLE!" the chainsaw guy screamed as Jace leapt off the roof.

He bounced off something and then hit the soft grass.

He held his middle finger to the sky, directed at the goddamn hang glider he had bounced off of.

"WHO DOES THAT? WE'RE IN A CITY, FOR RAZIEL'S SAKE! YOU DON'T JUST GO HANG GLIDING IN THE MIDDLE OF A CITY!"

Jace sighed. It looks like he'd have to find some other way to destroy Simon. But before he could, he found himself tied up in Alec's room.

"Why am I tied up?" he asked Alec, who was casually sharpening his arrows.

"Because you tried to shoot yourself in the face with a bebe gun."

"Simon!" Jace growled.

"Oh," Alec said, looking up. "Did you switch back?"

"Yes," Jace huffed. "Now untie me!"

Alec sighed and gazed longingly at his arrows. "I _so_ wanted to play Off With Your Head."

"You don't use arrows to cut people's heads off."

**-o-**

Simon limped into the library, moaning.

"I am so _sore_," he groaned, wincing as he sat down in a chair. "Did you _really_ have to jump off a roof?"

"You tried to shoot my face," Jace exclaimed. "And besides, this crazy chainsaw guy was chasing me."

"Oh, that was Luke," Clary said absentmindedly. "Simon prank called him and my mom."

"Guys?" Izzy called, poking her head through the door. "We've got a problem."

**-o-**

Magnus was rocking back and forth on the floor, arms around his legs, wailing pitifully every few minutes or so.

It was obvious. Magnus had been de-Magnusified. No glitter.

Anywhere.

Not a speck.

He was wearing a light gray T-shirt and track pants, and his hair was horrifically normal. No spikes, gel, glitter, anything.

"Yeah, I don't see the problem," Jace said.

"It's glitter withdrawal," Alec sighed. "It happens."

"Why can't he just summon some?" Simon asked.

"My powers aren't working!" Magnus wailed.

"That's not the problem," Izzy said impatiently. She pointed to the far wall. "Look at that."

Moving closer to the wall, Jace saw a small circular, swirling, patch of light. It grew bigger every minute, and it was quite obvious what it was.

"Oh, shit," Alec muttered. "If that's who I think it is, we're screwed."

Someone –and it definitely wasn't a Shadowhunter–was slowly and steadily portaling their way into the Institute.

And they all knew exactly who it was.

**-o-**

**So, I finished Looking For Alaska… interesting plot.**

**And I started 'Side Effects May Vary' by Julie Murphy, and it's pretty good so far! Lots of deep thinking :) My kind of book!**

**~Emma**


	18. Magnus is Kind Of Insane

**If you didn't read last chapter, go do it. I updated late last night, so you may not have read it.**

**Chapter 17:**

"Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit," Izzy moaned.

"Gliiiiiiiiiittterrrrr," Magnus wailed.

Jace left the room and came back with a tube of glitter glue. He spelled out 'idiot' on Magnus's forehead with the glue, and then gave the rest to the now sparkly Magnus.

"GLLLLLLITTERRRR!" Magnus squealed.

"We are so stupid," Clary said.

"How could we not think there would be repercussions?" Alec muttered.

"Sorry," Simon said.

"Si, it wasn't your fault," Clary said. "Asmodeus just has severe issues."

"What is with demons and stolen memories?" Jace exclaimed.

"Who knows?" Simon threw his hands in the air. Like he just didn't care. But he did care.

"Step six!" Magnus cried. "Use those hips!" He quickly started swinging his hips back and forth.

"Magnus, do you need to go to the glitter room?" Alec asked, putting a hand on the warlock's shoulder.

"That's it, Mags! Swing them like you mean them!" Jace cried, laughing. Magnus started swinging his hips very, very, impossibly fast. He squeezed the tube of glue, so glittery substance squirted from the bottle to land on Alec.

"Okaay," Izzy said. "From the growth rate of the portal and the time it's been open, I think we've got one or two days before they can actually get here."

"I suppose this is what I get for being in love with a glitterholic," Alec said, looking down at himself.

"I want to see Cats," Magnus said mournfully, finally stopping with the hip swinging.

"Go get the Chairman," Clary said.

"It's a play. Cats. It's showing this weekend," Alec explained.

"Oh. Well, that sounds fun. We could all go t-"

"DOES ANYONE CARE THAT ASMODEUS IS PORTALING TO THE INSTITIUTE, PROBABLY WITH A DEMON ARMY, AND WE DO NOT HAVE A CHANCE OF STOPPING IT?"

Everyone looked around, surprised at Izzy's outburst.

"Isn't it obvious?" Jace asked. "We're gonna take the roof off of this room, so the light will burn them."

Everyone nodded.

"When did we decide this?" Izzy asked.

"God, woman, pay attention," Jace rolled his eyes.

"Now about the play-"

"That alone is not going to stop them," Izzy said.

"Izzy," Alec said. "Serious talk now, non-serious talk later."

"So a stupid play is more important than-"

"It is no stupid play!" Magnus cried. "It is CATS! A musical, educational, influential, amazing story of the Chairman's journey to freedom!"

"No, that's 'Chairman in the Wild,'" Alec said.

"Oh, right. I forgot."

"Well, I think 'Church Unleashed' was better," Jace mused.

"Aca-what now? No," Magnus said. "Unacceptable."

"Oh, _my_ God," Izzy groaned.

**-o-**

"We could just leave, you know," Simon said, as he and Clary lay staring at the stars. "Go to Europe. Leave it for the mundanes to sort out."

"We could," Clary mused. "But, Simon, the mundanes are just as much our people as the Shadowhunters are. What about Eric? Rebecca? Your mom?"

"I could never leave them," Simon admitted. "Not the mundanes _or_ you."

"Or Izzy," Clary said slyly.

"Or Izzy," he sighed. "Or Magnus, or Alec."

"Or Jace."

"There's a reason I left him out, Clary."

She laughed.

**-o-**

"Question; how are we going to take the roof off?" Izzy put her hands on her hips.

"Magnus is a warlock, Izzy," Jace rolled his eyes.

"In case you didn't notice, his powers aren't exactly working!" She gestured towards the warlock. He was sitting on the floor with Alec, shoving a bottle of glue in Alec's mouth.

"Step two!" he cried. "Don't eat that glue! Cause if you do, you'll probably die! And that's not cool!"

Alec eventually got the glue away from him and threw it to the other side of the room. Magnus started crying and got up to leave. When he passed by Jace, he paused to look at the golden-haired boy.

"You're fat," he said thoughtfully. Rubbing his chin, he left.

"FAT? DID HE JUST CALL ME FAT? JACE HERONDALE IS NOT FAT!" Jace screamed. "JACE HERONDALE IS FIT AS A PANCAKE!"

"If you eat too many pancakes, you can become fat," Alec said, getting up.

"That logic is not correct," Jace said.

"Yes, Jace, it is," Izzy said.

Magnus walked back in. "Can I have my glue?" he asked.

"Yes, Magnus, you can have your glue," Alec sighed.

Jace picked it up and threw it at the warlock, who snapped his fingers and the glue was suspended in midair.

"See? His powers work," Jace said.

"GLITTER IS MY FUEEEL!" Magnus cried, as he left the room.

"FINE! But we have to do more than that!" Izzy screamed.

"Chillax, Iz," Jace soothed. "We'll just fight em! We can get action shots! Like in _The Avengers!_"

"Oh my GOD! What has gotten in to us?" Izzy cried, watching Magnus chase Simon down the hall, a unicorn horn taped to his forehead.

"GIVE ME BACK MY RAAAAAAAINBOOOOOOOOOOWS!"

"This is not going to work, but I don't have any better ideas, so I guess we'll try it." She paused. "But if we're doing the Avengers thing, can I be Black Widow? I mean.."

"It's obvious who I should be," Jace said.

"Yeah, Captain America," Alec said, as Izzy said, "Thor."

"Was gunna say Hawkeye…"

"Woah, no you don't! I am Hawkeye!" Alec said. He put his hands on his hips and lifted his chin.

"Fine. I'll be Thor."

"I'll be Black Widow!" Clary said as she walked in.

"NO!" Izzy yelled.

"I've got the hair!" Clary said.

Izzy picked up a pair of scissors lying on a table nearby. "Not for long, heheheheheheheheheheheheh!"

"Okay! Nevermind! I guess I'll be…"

"I'm Captain America!" Simon yelled as he ran past the door.

"Yeah! Izzy can be Peggy!" Jace said.

She slapped him as Magnus yelled that he'd be Iron Man. He paused.

"BUT CAN I BE GLITTER MAN?"

Jace laughed. "That leaves Clary with…"

"The Hulk!" Everyone shouted, cracking up at the short redhead who was the Hulk.

"GUYSSSSS!" Clary whined.

"Step five!" Magnus cried. "There is no step five!"

"What?" Alec said.

"You know that, hun."

**-o-**

**THREE MisterEpicMann references? I think YES!**

**HAHA.**

**Can't wait for World Cup results!**

**~Emma**


	19. Let's kill something! -Jace

**Chapter 18:**

"Okay, no more funny stuff," Izzy said, walking around and tracing runes on each Shadowhunter so that they couldn't move. "If you A.) say something ridiculous, B.) say something that has nothing to do with the topic, or C.) laugh, I get to slap you. Now, let's begin."

"Step eight!" Magnus giggled. "No longer will we wait! It's time to-"

"You're lucky runes don't work on you," Izzy said, then slapped him. Jace couldn't contain his laughter, and he ended up being slapped, as well.

"I'm serious," Izzy said.

"Izzy," Jace said, sobering up. "There's not really much we can do, except fight, which we will. But this is one thing that we are not winning without some serious bruises."

_So, tell me what you want, what you really really want._

_I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want!_

_I wanna-_

"Shut that thing up!" Simon moaned, covering his ears.

"They're not that bad," Alec said.

As Izzy slapped Simon and Alec for saying non-related things, Magnus answered his phone, the somewhat drunken expression on his face replaced with one of concern.

"Turns out I won't be here for the big fight," Magnus said, looking at Alec. Something passed between the two, and Alec nodded. "I can still take off the roof, but I can't do the actual fighting part."

"Why not?" Izzy demanded.

"It's complicated," Magnus said cautiously. Withholding secrets from a Shadowhunter never ended well.

"How complicated?"

"It's complicated," Alec said, glaring at them.

"Secrets, secrets are no fun, unless shared with-" _SLAP!_

"That was related to the topic!" Jace insisted.

"Okay, so Magnus doesn't want to fight because he's a coward," Izzy said. "The rest of us can talk battle position and strategy."

**-o-**

_Ugh,_ Izzy thought. _ He's such a secret keeper. Why do we even tolerate him?_

She rounded a corner and flung the door of her room open. She slammed it shut.

She must have drifted off. When she woke, there was a conversation going on outside her door. She crept silently to the door and pressed her ear to the wood.

"Alec," Magnus said. The love for Alec was dripping from his voice. _Sickening. Love. _"I don't want to come back to a dead Alexander. Be careful. Please."

And in that moment, she was reminded again why they tolerated the warlock. Because, every moment of every day, he made Alec happy.

"I will," her brother answered. His voice was also full of love towards the sparkly, insane, warlock. "But I don't want to live through it just to find that you never come back."

"The only thing to keep me from you would be death," Magnus said. "Or kidnapping. Or a glitter buffet."

"What if I told you that if you come back, and I survive, we'll see Cats. Again. And afterwards a glitter buffet, then a normal buffet."

"Alexander, you have yourself a deal."

_Love. DISGUSTING LOVE!_

She opened the door. "Would you like a room? There's about a thousand."

"We would love a room," Magnus smiled sadly. "Sadly, I have to get going. After all, I am a coward."

He retreated down the hall. Alec just looked at Izzy, shaking his head. He ran his hand through his hair and turned away.

**-o-**

"It's way too bright in here," Simon said, trying for small talk.

"Then get sunglasses," Izzy said curtly.

"Listen," Simon said. "Isabelle, I d-"

"Let's kill something!" Jace whooped, entering the room.

"I think you interrupted something," Clary said meaningfully, pulling at Jace's arm.

"No, it's fine," Simon said, focusing on Isabelle. Was that a look of… regret? "We weren't doing anything."

"That's obvious," Jace said with a laugh.

God, did he have to be such an ass?

"Jace," Clary growled. She began applying runes to Simon. Clary's runes were always the strongest. When Alec finally arrived, Simon noticed that he looked a little disconnected with his surroundings. _Probably just Magnus's absence_, Simon reasoned. _He'll be okay by the time we have to fight._

But even after Clary had applied everyone's runes, and Izzy had begun the pep talk, he still looked a little fazed. Simon asked if he was okay, but Alec insisted he was fine. The growing portal pulsed, and the small troop of Shadowhunters took their positions.

Alec had climbed the mountain of stacked tables, an arrow notched in his bow. He had went through all of the arrows in the quiver, marking each with a variety of runes, like fire, strength, and accuracy. Four seraph blades were hanging from his belt.

Simon also had a bow, but it was meant to launch knives and pretty much anything else instead of arrows. He, too, had a belt of seraph blades.

Izzy stood at the front, where she loved to be. In each hand, she held an electrum whip. Two extras were curled around her forearms, but she only had two seraph blades.

Clary had Heosphoros in one hand, and a short, jagged dagger in the other. A single blade was on her belt.

Jace was, like, the supplier of seraph blades. One in each hand, at least ten on his belt, about four on his back. His eyes were glittering, like they always were before a fight.

Church had decided to show up, as well. He lay in the doorway, licking his paw. Simon doubted that the cat would do much in the fight, but it was nice of him to show up for support.

Unless he was supporting the other team…

Izzy was certainly ready. Anger had been building within her for six years, and tonight, she would let go. No one knew the pain of being right.

Her whole life, she thought love was worthless. Opening your heart, just to get it broken. Then she met Simon. Simon, whom she thought might prove her wrong. But, oh no, she just _had_ to be right. Isabelle had gotten hurt. She would never make the same mistake.

The portal pulsed, and she cracked her whips.

**OOH FIGHTING! YAY!**

**So I guess you could say this is the climax…?**

**Anyway, I'm not all that great at writing fight scenes, but I'll try my best. After the next chapter or two, I basically have everything prewritten, so it'll just be a matter of uploading them regularly.**

**~Emma**


	20. Do Not Fight In Spacious Rooms

**Chapter 19:**

The room was spacious, and, in the end, that was the reason why what happened had happened.

Originally intended to be the training room, the architect made it exceptionally large. But the training room had been moved, and so the Institute had an extremely large, empty room. It was rarely used, except for the time Simon had tried to convert it into a video game room, but no one wanted to help pay for all of the consoles and TVs.

The table tower Alec stood on was unstable, and constantly wobbled. After another pulse of portal light, Simon decided to enlighten everyone.

"Any moment now," he announced.

"Gee," Jace rolled his eyes. "Who would've thought?"

"I'm just saying!" Simon said.

A demon shot through the portal. It was scaly and slimy, and its eyes were bright white bulbs. Alec shot it and notched another arrow. He continuously repeated this process, picking them off as they stepped through. Eventually, his arrow missed, and then it was too hard to keep up with the flow of demons. The demons engaged in battle with the Shadowhunters, and the Shadowhunters kept the upper hand, because the demons were weakened by the light. Alec kept his perch, shooting demons crowding the farthest corners of the room.

If someone was watching the battle, they would probably note the glint in Jace's eye and the smile on his face. It was true; Jace enjoyed killing demons. Once or twice, his comrades could've sworn they heard laughing erupting from his mouth.

"When is Luke getting here?" Simon yelled over the noisy din.

Luke and Jocelyn had been in Florida, vacationing in the Keys. Clary had called them and told them to come back to help with the fight, and Luke said he would try to bring the wolves, but he wasn't in charge of them anymore, so it would be difficult. But they knew Maia, the new pack leader, held a deep respect for Luke and would most likely respond to the call.

"We got here five minutes ago!" Jocelyn shouted, stabbing a demon.

Sure enough, a lone wolf growled to agree, tearing at demon throats.

Fighting many types of demons at once was a difficult task. They all had different weaknesses, strengths, and styles of fighting. The Shadowhunters slowly lost the upper hand until they heard the collective howls of a werewolf pack. Souls lifted, they fought with new energy, every once in a while retreating to the hall to reapply runes, only to jump back into the fray.

There were losses, that's for sure. Over the sounds of battle, injured wolves and Nephilim could be heard yelping and grunting.

Alec continued picking them off, shooting into the farthest corners of the room, but the portal was still open. Despite the bright, almost blinding, sunlight, the demons were a wave of strength. Alec reached for another arrow, only to discover his quiver was empty. He threw it into the crowd and picked up another lying next to him.

"Stop," a voice commanded. Simon shivered. It was _the_ voice. Asmodeus stepped through the portal, which seemed to freeze behind him. All around, the demons froze in place, and the Shadowhunters hacked and killed them all.

"Well, _that_ was unnecessary," he drawled. He looked in distaste at the group. They were covered in blood, ichor, and sweat.

Completely the opposite, Asmodeus was in a tailored crimson suit. He wore a black dress shirt and red tie, and his hair was slicked back with gel. He adjusted his sunglasses, glancing at the roof- or lack thereof.

"I am weaker here," he said. "But this portal keeps me strong."

"How did you portal here? You're a demon," Luke growled.

"I have some friends," Asmodeus smiled, tucking his hands in his pockets. "Honestly, I thought you would have come up with something better than this." He gestured to the room.

Alec let fly an arrow at the same moment Simon shot a chopstick, which he had found at his feet. He didn't know where it was from, but he was thankful for its presence.

He caught both missiles in his hands.

"Your coat hem is uneven," Jace said.

"What?" the red-clad being said, looking anxiously down at his suit coat. "No it's not!" Seeing the smirk on the boy's face, he hissed. "I want what is mine!"

"Six years after?"

"I bided my time," he said. "After all, I have eternity. You, on the other hand…"

With that, he stepped backwards through the portal and the wave of demons returned. Jace found himself next to Simon before long. Stabbing out with his seraph blades, he warned, "On your left!"

Simon ducked an incoming poisonous barb, which hit a demon behind him. Blinking, he said, "I understood that reference."

Jace grinned. "Peace out, Cap!" he back-flipped, effectively knocking out a demon.

Jace slipped out to the hall to put on a new stamina rune. As he did, he caught sight of that odd, shimmery air patch. _Not again, not now._

But it was peaceful. It soaked into his skin, and he felt himself become stronger, and filled with a love so strong it was overwhelming. What the love was for, he didn't know. But he _did_ know that he loved to love.

A werewolf hit the wall, then scampered back into the fight.

Maybe this wasn't the best time to be thinking about love.

He dove back in the room, slashing, shouting, stabbing.

The demons fell before him, dissolving into meaningless bits. He killed, but he mourned for the souls imprisoned to fight. They didn't have any free will; they fought until they died. An arrow whizzed past his head as he waded through the mix.

He looked to the shooter.

Alec was on his fifth quiver of arrows, and he shot again and again and again. His hands were getting sore, and he constantly switched hands.

There were a considerably less amount of demons, and then there were very few. Through the fighting, Izzy could catch glimpses of her brother. He was so focused when he shot. He didn't even pay attention when the demon started climbing. She yelled and cracked her whip, causing four demons to fall. She fought her way to Alec, shouting his name over and over.

He was too focused.

It climbed right up, embedding its poisonous spike into Alec, temporarily paralyzing him. He bared his teeth and raised the spike again, and brought it down. Bringing it back up for the kill, he grinned with malice. She felt someone grab at her belt.

"_Nakir,_" Simon said, and the seraph blade lit up. He fitted it to the awkward bow and fired. The glowing blade arched through the air to meet the demon's chest.

"You saved my brother's life," Izzy said. For a moment, there was no fight, only her and Simon. Simon shook his head sadly.

"I've only prolonged it," he said.

**-o-**

**So how bout that World Cup final, eh?**

**~Emma**


	21. Le Battale Part 1

**Chapter 20 (we're getting so far in!):**

Jace was in the hall when he felt it.

It was a sharp pain near his collarbone. He gasped and dropped his stele. Clutching his collarbone, he knelt on the ground.

"Are you okay?" someone asked.

Through bleary eyes, Jace saw Zachariah looming above him. He knelt next to Jace. "Your _parabatai_ rune."

"Alec," Jace breathed, trying to stand. He managed to get to his feet, but he stumbled and found himself leaning in the doorway of the room. The pain coursed through him again.

"It's going to kill him," Jace said, trying to walk. Zachariah grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He caught fleeting glimpses of the demon raising the spike again. "_It's going to kill him!_"

"You're not stable on your feet," he said.

"Let me _go!_ Alec!" he cried.

"No."

He sat Jace down with his back to the wall.

"Stay here until your senses have cleared."

"You…" Jace struggled. "Jem."

Zachariah's eyes widened. "How did you know my name?"

"I don't know, I just…" Jace proceeded to tell Jem about the shimmery air and the sensations of being unconscious, the black hair and violet-blue eyes.

"Tessa was right, then," Jem murmured.

"What?"

"Nothing, just…" he looked around. "Stay here. I wonder…"

He got up and left. Jace picked up his stele and looked at his _parabatai_ rune. It was still black, not faded, so he knew Alec was still alive. But who knows for how long?

Against Jem's wishes, he wobbled into the room. Sticking close to the wall, he only encountered one demon. He finally made it to Alec, and threw him over his shoulder. Carefully landing on the floor again, he sprinted out of the room and to the infirmary, laying Alec down on a bed. He rushed to the cabinet, searching through various medicinal ingredients.

"Jace, stop," Alec said through clenched teeth. "It's too late."

"No, it's not!" Jace yelled. "Besides, it's not like I can even do anything. I can feel your pain, but not as much as you feel it. Judging from what _I _feel, I'm guessing there's a lot."

"Jace, block out the pain. The others need you."

"Alec, I'm not just going to _leave_ you here!"

"You have to!"

"I can't!"

"If you don't leave me, I will never forgive you. If we lose this battle because you're here and not there…"

"'Wither thou goest, I will go.'"

"Then I'll go." Alec tried to stand, wincing.

"You can't!"

"Either you go, or I go!" Alec glared at Jace. "God_damn_it_,_ Jace, _go_!"

**-o-**

As Jace stumbled through the halls, swearing under his breath, he could feel the pain subside a little.

_Doesn't he understand I'm trying to _help?

"Oh, hello," he heard.

"Whoever you are, I don't care. Please leave me alone." He didn't even turn to see who it was.

A deep chuckling filled the hall.

"Okay. _After_ you tell me where Magnus Bane is."

Jace swiveled to find Asmodeus with his feet planted and arms crossed.

"Why do you even care?" Jace scoffed.

"He's my son." Asmodeus took a step closer.

"Well, I don't know," Jace said, curling his finger around the handle of a seraph blade. "So fuck off."

"Why should I?"

"Because if you don't I will personally slice you into a million tiny pieces and then throw them into the ocean."

"Fine with me. I love swimming." He shrugged.

"_Ithuriel,_"Jace muttered under his breath.

"Where is my son?"

Jace whipped the blade at Asmodeus chest. He tried to dodge it, but it was stuck in his shoulder blade.

"Well, _that_ hurts," Asmodeus said mournfully. "No more games."

His fingers flamed with flickering red fire.

"Why can't demons just be polite and stay out of our business?!"

"That's not really my style. Besides, I like to be invincible. Now tell me. _Where is my son?_"

"He hates you, you know," Jace sneered.

"I don't really care," Asmodeus said. "Do I look like the caring father type?"

"I don't know where Magnus is."

"You think I believe you?"

"If you don't, you're stupid."

"He must've told at least one of you…"

_Alec,_ Jace thought.

"He doesn't really trust us," Jace lied, rolling his eyes.

"Oh? What of his… _special friend?_ Alexander Gideon Lightwood?"

"They broke up. Get with it."

"Really?" Asmodeus looked excited. "So if I kill him, Magnus won't be mad?"

Okay, this was not where Jace had wanted the conversation to go.

"Uhh…"

"Never liked him that much anyway," Asmodeus sniffed. "Or you, for that matter."

He threw a ball of flame at Jace, who ducked and swung his leg out in front of him, knocking Asmodeus to the ground. Straddling him and pinning his arms down, Jace named another two seraph blades. Asmodeus set his arms aflame, and Jace jumped off, thudding a blade into the Demon Prince's uninjured shoulder. Wincing, Asmodeus doused his fiery arms and stood.

Jace flipped in the air to land on the other side of Asmodeus. Jumping on his back, he grabbed the Prince's sunglasses and flung them away.

Asmodeus reared back, clawing at his eyes. Preparing for the death blow, Jace brought his arm back up.

"Jace?" Izzy said, eyes wide. He hadn't realized they were so close to the battle. "Don't kill him."

"Are you _fucking_ kidding me?"

She grabbed the seraph blade out of his hand and coiled one of her electrum whips around Asmodeus, keeping her hand on the handle. She practically dragged him into the room.

"Call your demons off," she growled into his ear.

"No." She pulled the whip tighter, and he winced.

"Do it," she snarled.

"Fine," he grumbled. "Stop." The demons kept attacking. "It's not working," he sighed, smirking a little.

"That's because you whispered it," she hissed. She pulled it tight, and the cord dug into his injured shoulders, causing him to cry out in pain.

At the sound, the army stopped, glancing uncertainly at their master.

He said something in a garbled language, and half of the remaining demons retreated through the portal.

**So apparently Magnus doesn't have a belly button… lol! I just learned that!**

**Also, he's the only character who's in every installment. (TMI, TID, TBC)**

**I was re-watching CoB, and I realized Simon had a six-pack. XD I also thought that Magnus's voice was really weird. Apparently they did some editing to Godfrey's voice. It's weird…**

**I've recently started listening to Echosmith, and I really like all of their songs a lot :)**

**My brother says a lot of weird things…**

**Ex: My family was all watching AGT together, so we paused it so my brother could go to the bathroom, and then we just hear him yelling, "I'm peeing on China!" so, not sure what to say about that…**

**So, Gotze had a pretty great goal, I must admit. WAY too much pressure on Messi, though. Everyone was crying and then he got the kick with like 2 minutes left in the game, down by one point. Not to mention the commentary: "If anyone can do it, Messi can!" then Messi misses by a mile lol.**

**~Emma just found out Magnus doesn't have a belly button!**


	22. Le Battale, Part 2

**Chapter 21:**

Izzy held the seraph blade to the Prince's throat.

"What do we have to do to get you to leave us alone?" she said through clenched teeth, digging the blade in a little.

"Give me the boy," he gestured to Simon.

"Not a chance," Izzy snarled.

"Uh, I'm a _man,_ not a boy," Simon corrected.

"Sure," Jace rolled his eyes.

"Give me the boy," Asmodeus said.

"You know what I'll give you?" Simon grinned. "The opportunity to watch an interview with Jace's ass!"

"Oh, my Lucifer!" Asmodeus cried. "That was fucking HILARIOUS! I watched it like ten times!"

"I know, right?" Simon said.

"Wait, I'm supposed to be being evil right now," Asmodeus frowned. "Okay, um… Got it. Give me the boy!"

"We literally just went over this," Jace said.

"You don't _have_ to be evil," Clary said.

"I don't _have_ to, but if I'm not, I lose my job," Asmodeus said.

"Wait, what?"

"Wow, is it hot in here? It's hot in here."

Asmodeus avoided everyone's glances.

"Spill," Izzy growled.

Asmodeus shook his head, and Izzy pressed the blade to his throat harder. A bead of ichor formed at the cut.

"Who's your boss?" Jace narrowed his eyes.

He set his stele to the demon's skin, and he writhed. He started moving the tip, and Asmodeus screamed.

"Lilith!"

Jace removed the stele. "_What?_"

"She wants him!" Asmodeus moaned at the burning sensation on his skin left by the dark lines of the stele.

"I _am_ very desirable, aren't I?" Simon grinned.

"What does she want him for?" Izzy asked, keeping the pressure on Asmodeus's throat.

"She thinks that he can sire some sort of dark Shadowhunter race! Plus, she said I can have his memories back!"

"I don't like being desirable," Simon said.

"Go back to your hellhole of a realm and tell her I said 'NO FUCKING WAY!'" Izzy spat, and Simon raised his eyebrows.

"Shadowhunters don't have kids with demons," Clary said, blinking.

"Simon is no ordinary Shadowhunter, and Lilith is no ordinary demon," said Jem.

Tessa nodded from beside him. "Simon is first generation. The blood of the Angel may be within him, but normal Nephilim genetics and tendencies are not."

"What does that mean?" Simon asked.

"It's never actually been proven true, but in the Spiral Labyrinth, there is talk of a first-gen who fell in love with a demon, and produced offspring."

"So, Simon, wanna do the frick-frack with Lilith?" Jace asked.

Simon shuddered. "I'd rather kill myself…"

"You _have_ to!" Asmodeus whined. "Otherwise she'll _kill_ me!"

"That's not really our problem," Jace said.

"OWWW!" Asmodeus shrieked. Church had locked his jaw around the Prince's leg.

"Church, drop it!" Jace yelled. The cat kept its hold.

"Church, drop it," Zach- _Jem_ said. Church immediately let go, leaped into Jem's arms, and stuck his tongue out at Jace.

"Now there's a hole in my pant leg!" Asmodeus whined, looking mournfully at the cat-tooth sized holes.

"Like father, like son," Jace said.

"We are fancy," Asmodeus agreed.

"We already know," Simon said.

"Can we do this fast, please?" Izzy asked. "What does Lilith need _exactly_?"

"She needs the boy!" Asmodeus yelled. "I already told you!"

"Watch your mouth," Izzy snarled, tightening the electrum cord. "What did she _say_ exactly?"

"She said," Asmodeus struggled to breathe with the tightening cord surrounding him. "'Bring me the boy.' So I asked what I got in return, and she said 'You can have his memories.'"

"So she never actually said Simon's name?"

"Well… no."

"So how do you know she meant Simon?"

"Uh… I don't."

"Jesus fucking Christ," Jace cried, running his hands through his hair.

With that, Izzy drove the seraph blade all the way through, effectively beheading the Prince of Hell, and then brought it back to stab his chest. It was over in less than ten seconds.

"That escalated quickly," Simon said.

The portal started closing, shrinking in on itself. The remaining demons tried to bolt through it, but they were too slow, and soon they were all dead.

The four Shadowhunters rushed to the infirmary.

"Maybe we should go in one at a time," Clary suggested. "He's probably sleeping. Or…"

She let the thought dangle, and they decided Izzy would go. As they waited for her to return, Clary looked to Jace. He was clearly in pain. He winced every few seconds, and he seemed unstable on his feet.

"Jace? Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm okay," he swallowed. "Alec's not."

Izzy returned, and there were unshed tears glistening in her eyes. She collapsed into the other three's arms.

**-o-**

Magnus brightened when Clary opened the door to the Institute. Looking around, he frowned.

"I thought Alec would come to the door," he said, his face falling.

Clary bit her lip.

"Clary?" he asked, seeing the movement. His face wrinkled with concern, and he tried to push past her. "Where's Alec?"

Tears welled up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Magnus," she cried, hugging him close. "I'm so sorry."

**-o-**

**So, I hope you liked the chapter! *evil laugh* If you hate me now, just wait until a few more chapters! You're all going to kill me.**

**I will be in Florida all of next week. We're moving there, and so we're going to look for houses. I'm not sure yet if I'll bring my laptop, so we'll see. I'm leaving Friday, so I'll probably upload one or two more chapters before departure.**

**~Emma**


	23. I'm sorry for your loss

**So, do y'all like the name of this chapter? :)**

**Chapter 22:**

"But… he said… promised…"

"Do you want to see him?" Clary asked, wiping her eyes. "He hasn't got much time."

"You mean… he's alive?"

Clary nodded. "We don't know for how long."

Before she had even finished, Magnus sprinted past her to the infirmary.

**-o-**

"If he gets up and starts spouting nonsense, I'm going to lose it," Izzy said, gazing at her unconscious brother.

"What?" Jace asked, confused.

"That's what you did. When you were unconscious."

"Oh," Jace said, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"What were you thinking about, anyway?" she asked.

Jace told her about the shimmery air, the odd warnings, and how Jem had reacted. Earlier, he had been talking with Clary and Tessa. Tessa's eyes had glistened when Jace talked about the black hair and blue eyes. When he told them how the voice had said to 'take care of them for me,' Tessa had started crying and left the room.

The door banged open, and Magnus was wild-eyed in the doorway. Jace and Izzy left the room, rather reluctantly.

Magnus took a seat next to Alec's bed. The blue-eyed boy was asleep, and Magnus intertwined his fingers with Alec's. At the touch, Alec shifted.

"Magnus," he breathed. Magnus squeezed his hand. "You're back."

"You said you wouldn't die," Magnus said, leaning forward and propping his elbow on the bed.

"All I said was that I'd be alive when you got here. And I am, aren't I?"

"You also said we could go out to buffets. And see Cats."

"I'm going to need a rain check on that, I'm afraid," Alec said, smiling sadly.

"I don't think I can give you one," Magnus brushed a tuft of hair out of the way of Alec's eyes. "It would be too hard."

Alec kissed Magnus's hand, still entwined with his own. "I'm sorry."

"For what, sweetheart?"

"We didn't have much time together to begin with, and then I had to be reckless and shorten it even more."

"You weren't reckless."

After a moment, Alec laughed softly. "I feel like we're in one of those cheesy romance novels."

Magnus placed a hand over his heart. "Alexander Lightwood was the great star-crossed love of my life."

"Hey! The Fault in Our Stars was _not_ cheesy!" Alec said, laughing.

"I totally knew what was going to happen!"

"Yeah, because you decided to see the movie first!" Alec rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," Magnus waved his hand.

Izzy poked her head in. "Hey, do you want me to get anything from your flat? You know, medicine, porn, anything…"

Alec nearly choked. Laughing, Magnus got up to investigate the contents of the medicinal cabinets. Pulling out a pad and pen, he wrote down various items to collect from the flat and handed it to Izzy.

"I won't let you down," she saluted, shutting the door behind her.

**-o-**

Izzy hailed a cab to Magnus's flat. Unlocking the door with the key Magnus gave her, she headed for the living room to search for what she needed – for herself, not Magnus. All she found was a couple cat magazines and a list of birthday party theme ideas for the Chairman. She decided to take a look in the bedroom.

There were two closets. One was rather small and contained boring clothes, so she assumed it was Alec's. The other was huge, and Izzy envied Magnus, for it was obviously his. Who else would own bright pink, glittery, cat covered silk pajamas? And the shoes…

Focus.

Pushing aside all the clothes, she searched behind them, like they did in those Narnia movies, except Izzy wasn't searching for a magic land. She discovered a stack of fashion magazines, some as old as the early 1900s. Underneath them all, she found exactly what she was looking for. Flipping to the index, she quickly found the page she was looking for and propped the book open in Magnus's kitchen.

After taking care of herself, she gathered the items on Magnus's list. Not that he would need them anyway, after she was done with her work.

Hailing a cab to get back, she gave Magnus his items, and then went to her room to wait.

**-o-**

Jem stepped carefully in between the pools of blood and ichor. Spotting a white-skinned woman with long, dark hair, he tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, have you seen Tessa Gray?" he asked. The woman turned, and Church yelped and ran out of Jem's arms. The woman had snakes protruding from her eyes.

"Yes, just a moment," the woman said. Jem was averting his gaze, and when he looked again, he saw that the woman was actually Tessa. She flashed a ring with an 'L' on it at him before tucking it in her pocket.

"Well, that was a rather… disturbing woman," Jem finished.

"When Asmodeus was giving his disturbing speech earlier, I just noticed something falling from his pocket. When I examined it, I thought it might be Lilith's ring, and I was right," Tessa explained.

"So did you learn anything?" Jem asked.

"Nothing," Tessa sighed.

"Hey," he said, resting his hand on her shoulder. "You can't always save the day."

"I don't always save the day!"

"Yes, that's what I was just saying," Jem smiled.

**-o-**

When she was sure everyone was out of the infirmary, Izzy crept out of her room, the vial in her pocket. She quietly slipped through the door of the Institute infirmary and found Alec's bed.

Taking the vial out, she took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she said.

"Izzy?" Alec said, sitting up groggily. "Is that you?"

"I'm sorry," she repeated.

"Iz?" he sounded worried. "What are you sorry for?" He reached to the bed table next to him and switched on a lamp.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she breathed. Alec saw the grayish liquid in the vial and his eyes widened. Living with a warlock, Alec knew what the different colors meant. Pink or red for the good potions, purple and blue for mischief, grayscale for serious matters, etc.

"Izzy, no!" He didn't know exactly what the potion was, but the color was clear enough in the warm lamplight.

With a shaky hand, she uncapped the vial. She stepped closer and traced a rune on his arm to still him. She poured a bit of potion into his mouth, and placed her hand over his lips so that he couldn't vomit it back up. After she made sure he had swallowed, she poured the rest down her own throat.

**-o-**

**Are you guys having a nice day? *innocent smile***

**~Emma**


	24. Simon Makes a Bad Ice Cream Sundae

**Chapter 23:**

Jace couldn't sleep. His _parabatai's_ pain was coursing through him. He kept tossing and turning. All of a sudden, the pain lifted. Sitting up, he wondered what happened. Was Alec dead? He couldn't know; he'd never had a _parabatai_ die before, so he didn't know what it felt like.

A bloodcurdling scream filled his ears.

_Down the hall,_ he thought.

Clary.

He ran to the hall, but Clary shot past him, banging on Izzy's door. She didn't open, so she traced an open rune on the door. Jace followed her in, trying to calm her down, but she pushed past him when she saw Izzy wasn't in the room.

"Clary, what's wrong? Tell me! Fuck, Clary, TELL ME!"

"GODDAMN IT, WHAT DID YOU DO?"

The shout came from below. Clary sprinted downstairs to the infirmary. Izzy was collapsed on the floor, and Alec was lying in his bed.

"Jace! Let me up!"

Jace messed up Izzy's rune so Alec could stand. He picked Izzy up and placed her on his bed.

"FUCK IT! FUCK EVERYTHING! GODDAMN IT, ISABELLE!" Alec shouted.

Magnus and Simon came sprinting in. Magnus picked up the empty vial and examined the remaining contents.

"How did she administer it?" he asked Alec.

"SHE FUCKING SHOVED IT DOWN MY THROAT!"

"Did she drink any afterwards?"

"YES! SHE DID! ARGHHH!"

"Magnus, what is it?" Simon asked.

The warlock put his head in his hands .

"She sacrificed her life for yours."

No matter how grateful he was for his life, Alec would have rather died than live without Izzy. He stormed out of the infirmary, emitting a slew of curse words.

Back in the infirmary, Clary was still sobbing, but harder now. Jace and Simon were doing their best to comfort her, but her _parabatai's_ sacrifice was too much for her to bear.

**-o-**

Simon could not, for the life of him, find his stele. He had scoured the floor of the battle, thinking it might have fallen out of his pocket, but it was nowhere to be found. He knew the Institute had extras, but his stele had been specially crafted for him specifically as a thank you for sacrificing himself to save his friends.

He began going down the hall, door to door, checking every room. At last, he saw his stele, lying on the floor on the infirmary.

"Simon?" the small voice came from behind him. He turned to see Izzy, her eyelids fluttering, rubbing her eyes. "What happened to me?"

"Uh," he started. "Well, Magnus said you-"

"Sacrificed myself," she said, blinking. "Oh, God, I remember."

"You must be hungry," Simon said. "You sort of slept through breakfast _and_ lunch."

Isabelle thought for a minute, as if she wasn't sure if she was hungry or not, then nodded.

"Come back soon," she said, yawning and snuggling into her blankets.

For someone who just sacrificed herself to save her brother, she seemed oddly relaxed.

Simon went to the kitchen, where he found Alec brooding and eating chocolate ice cream out of the carton.

"I thought only girls did that," Simon gestured to the ice cream. He pulled open the fridge, trying to decide what Izzy would want to eat. Leftover Chinese? Pizza?

"Too bad," Alec grumbled, forcing down another spoonful. "And, didn't you just eat?" he asked, watching Simon rummage through the fridge.

"Oh, no, this is for Izzy," he said absentmindedly.

"She's awake?" Alec spat ice cream all over the table.

"Ew," Simon muttered. "And yeah, she just woke up."

Alec left the ice cream and ran out of the room, presumably to the infirmary.

"ISABELLE SOPHIA LIGHTWOOD!"

_Yep, he's definitely in the infirmary,_ Simon thought. _Hmm… maybe Izzy just wants a sandwich?_

Simon shrugged and just picked up the container of chocolate ice cream Alec had left. Pulling a container of sprinkles from one of the cabinets, he dumped the whole thing in and headed to the infirmary.

When he got there, Alec was ranting about sacrifice and the importance of living and moving on, and Isabelle was rolling her eyes and pulling the covers over her head.

"ALEC!" she shrieked. "You're talking about living and moving on and such, so do it! It's too late for me!"

"Yes, BECAUSE of your not-appreciated sacrifice!"

"If you're mad, don't talk to me! It'll be easier after a few days, I won't be here to talk to anyway! Simon, get back here with that ice cream!"

Simon stopped walking backwards out of the room and guiltily gave Izzy the ice cream. She shoveled a giant spoonful into her mouth. "Why ith thar tho mush spinkels?" she asked, the ice cream muffling her voice.

"By the Angel! I don't even know what to do with you!" Alec roared at her.

"I sure as hell do! Tell the Silent Brothers I'm ready to defend the City Of Bones!"

Alec stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Izzy grinned at Simon and patted the bed. Hesitantly, he sat on the very edge.

"God, Thimon, yah gonna fawl off," she said, her mouth full again. Simon moved to sit criss-cross-applesauce at the end of the bed.

Slurping the spoon, she looked at Simon.

"Are you going to say anything?" she asked. She offered the spoon to Simon.

He took it gingerly and used it to scoop some of the cold delightfulness onto his tongue. "Um hi. How do you feel?"

She groaned and took the spoon back. "No! No small talk! I'm about to _die_, for Raziel's sake-"

"Izzy," he said. "Don't talk like that."

"Like what? Like I'm gonna die? Cuz I am, you know. I haven't got much time, so-"

"Izzy," he said softly. "Please."

She gave him an incredulous look. "Simon, I'm the one inside my body. I'm the one who can feel myself going! I will talk about my demise if I want to!"

Simon rolled his eyes.

"Simon?" she said hesitantly.

"Yes, Iz?"

He could feel it. Something was about to happen. Whatever she was going to say… He unconsciously leaned forward a bit. Izzy glanced down at the ice cream, then back at Simon.

"Simon," she said. He looked at her expectantly. "There's too much sprinkles."

**-o-**

**HAHA!**

**For some reason, I'm getting emails whenever I post a chapter. It's like "New chapter from Percamalec, City of Darkness" and Im like, yeah. I AM percamalec.**

**Ahhh.**

**~Emma**


	25. I am Magnus Bane, I don't do laundry!

**Our journey is coming to a close! Don't worry, we've still got a few chapters left! Btw, this is my last post for a week.**

**Chapter 24:**

Simon woke up to the music drifting from Izzy's alarm clock, which she had insisted be brought into the infirmary. He had fallen asleep in the bed next to hers. Mostly because she asked him to.

_My ghost, where'd you go?_

_I can't find you in the body sleeping next to me._

"What a great choice, alarm clock," Simon grumbled, looking over to Izzy, who was snoring softly.

_My ghost, where'd you go?_

_What happened to the soul you used to be?_

Simon rolled his eyes and left to change clothes, but a hand grabbed his wrist, preventing him from going anywhere. It turned out Izzy was _not_ asleep.

"Where you going?" she mumbled, shifting the blankets and peering up at him with her wide, dark eyes.

"Just going to change," he said, trying to tug his hand away.

"Are you coming back?" she asked.

Without even thinking, he said the words.

"I have other friends, you know. Other places to be. I'm not your boyfriend." He regretted the words right away.

Izzy immediately let go of his wrist, smiling politely. "Of course not," she said. "I didn't mean to keep you. Sorry." She turned away so he couldn't see her expression.

"I didn't mean it like-"

"Simon. It's okay. You're right, you have other friends. You're not my boyfriend. That would be ridiculous." Simon could detect a hint of bitterness in her voice, but somehow he thought it wasn't directed at him. He sighed and left to change.

**-o-**

"Alexander, _calm down_," Magnus scolded for the umpteenth time that morning. Magnus's boyfriend was in the bathroom with the door closed, and Magnus could hear smashing and crashing. "Do I have to force-feed you cat food?"

The sounds paused for a moment.

"Cat food?" he heard Alec ask.

"What? It helps me calm down!" Magnus shrugged, not seeing the problem.

"You are _so_ weird."

"Yeah, but you love me, so why would I be anything else?"

Alec let out a breath. Magnus heard footsteps and saw the doorknob turning.

Alec opened it, shirtless, his rumpled hair hanging down in front of his icy eyes.

"I need a shirt," he announced, marching into the bedroom he shared with Magnus. Opening his rather small closet, he slammed the door shut again.

"Now what's wrong?" Magnus asked, strolling into the room and checking in his boyfriend's closet. "Oh."

Since Alec refused to shop for clothes with Magnus, and Magnus refused to do laundry, saying that you should only wear things once, Alec had run out of clothes.

"Whatever," Alec muttered. "I'll just re-wear something."

"Oh, no you don't!" Magnus locked the door with a snap of his fingers. Opening the doors of his own closet, he spread his arms wide.

"No. Fucking. Way." Alec crossed his arms and glared at the warlock.

"Well, this wouldn't have happened if you just went clothes shopping!" Magnus argued.

"It wouldn't have happened if you did laundry!"

"Why don't _you_ do laundry?"

"Because you won't buy us a laundry machine or a dryer!"

"So go find a river! That's what they did way back then!"

"Have you _seen_ the Hudson river?"

"Alexander! You are wearing clean clothes! That is final!"

Magnus began rummaging through the racks of clothes, trying to find something normal for Alec to wear.

Who was he kidding? He was Magnus Bane. Magnus Bane didn't do 'normal.'

"Close your eyes and point to something," Magnus instructed. Alec groaned and randomly directed his finger in the general direction of the closet. Magnus shrugged. The shirt was one of the less-extravagant items Magnus owned. It was a purple polo with sequins sewed on in a few random places. Magnus handed the shirt to Alec, who put it on reluctantly. He immediately grabbed a jacket to wear over it. A totally normal, black jacket.

**-o-**

Simon brought a tray of food in – no sprinkles. He was immediately serenaded by the alarm clock, which had made another great choice;

_They've all got the same heartbeat, but hers is falling behind._

_Yeah, they're-_

Simon smacked the snooze button. Izzy had fallen asleep again. He shook her awake.

"Simon?" she yawned. "Thanks for the food, but… you didn't have to do that. You're _not my boyfriend._"

She moved the blankets to cover her whole face.

"You're right," Simon swallowed. "But maybe I want to be." It seemed like the world froze. The covers stilled, he froze, all that moved was the napkin fluttering from the breeze of the fan.

"Simon, don't go there," she said, pushing the covers down to show only her face. "I'll be dead within the week."

"Isabelle, please don't say that." And then, the alarm clock ended its snooze period and began playing again.

_If I die young, bury me in satin_

_Lay me down on a bed of roses_

_Sink me in the river at dawn_

_Send me away with the words of a love song_

"It just doesn't stop, does it?" Simon grumbled, pushing it off the small bedside table.

"Simon! You broke my alarm clock!"

"So what? You'll be dead soon."

She regarded him with her dark eyes. Her expression softened. "Simon. I. Am. Dying. I am dying, and we all are. We're all dying. Life is a highway, and I'm just in the fast lane."

Simon was quiet for a moment, mulling over her words. Izzy yawned and her eyes closed for a second.

"Simon, I'm tired." She pulled the covers closer to her body.

"Okay," was all he said. She closed her eyes.

"Simon?"

"Iz."

She opened her eyes. "I love you." She swallowed and made eye contact. "And… I'm sorry it took so long for you to know."

"Oh, I knew. I knew the whole time, Iz." He grinned. "If only there was someone who loved you back."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"Kidding," he laughed. "I love you, too."

**-o-**

**Yeah, it's a shorter chapter, but SIZZY HAPPENED.**

**Sorry for going all 'Frozen' on you…**

**If you know where the quote 'We are dying. I'm just in the fast lane.' is from, you're awesome!**

**Do you guys have any prompts for me? Since this story's almost over, I need more ideas. I really love writing humor and MALEC! You can suggest one-shots or larger stories, like this one.**

**~Emma**


	26. Alec is Naughty

**SO, please don't kill me… btw, my flight was delayed, so I'm updating one last time!**

**Chapter 25:**

**5:03 AM: **"Ave atque vale," he said, closing her eyes.

**-o-**

**September 14, 5:12 AM**

**Send: **The Silent City

**Reply: **The NY Institute

_Residents of the Silent City;_

_One of our own has passed away. Isabelle Sophia Lightwood is ready for the ceremony and to defend the City of Bones._

**-o-**

Hours after the ceremony, Simon trudged back to his bedroom. Tacked to the door was a black envelope. In white ink, it read;

_For Simon's eyes only_

He smiled and took it down, retreating to his bed and opening the envelope. He pulled out a sheet of black paper covered in white ink. Discarding the envelope, he unfolded the paper.

_Dearest Simon;_

_X xxxx xxx, X xxxx xx, xx xxxx xxxx xx xxxxx. X xx xxxxx xxxxx xxxx xx xxxxxx'x xxxx x xxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx, xxx xxxxxxxx xx xxxxxx xxxx xxxxxx. Xxxxxxxxxx xx xx xx xxxx xxx._

_X xxxxx'xx xxxxx xx xx xxxx Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx, xxx xxxxx X xx xxxx, x xx xxx xxxx xxx xxxxxx xx xx xx xxxx xxx xxxx xxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxx. X xxxx xxx xxxx xx xxxxxx xxx xx xxxx xxxxx, xxx xx xxxx. _

_Xxx x xxx xx xxxx xxx xxxx xxxx xxx xxxxx xx. Xxxx, xxxx xxxxxx, xxxxxx xx xxxxx xx xxxx. _

_Xxxxxxxx xx, Xxxxx._

_Xxxx xxx xxxxxx,_

_Isabelle Sophia Lightwood_

**A/N: Hey, it's for Simon's eyes only! Sorry! You can't read it! Idk, maybe I'll publish it later.**

Simon smiled and laid his head back on the pillows. He was half laughing, half crying. A hesitant knock sounded on his door. He opened it to find Alec.

"Did she leave you a note?" Alec asked, holding up his black envelope.

"She's something, isn't she?" Clary asked, walking out into the hall with her own letter.

"She really is," Simon laughed, wiping tears from his eyes.

Magnus walked down the hall.

"What are those?" he asked.

"Letters from Isabelle," Alec answered. "She left you one too." He gestured to his bedroom door. Magnus opened his, and a pile of glitter spilled out. He smiled and read the letter, laughing.

"So, what did she say to you guys?" Jace came out of his bedroom.

"She said some stuff which I will not repeat, and then gave me a list of 'Comebacks to Use With Jace When He is Being An Annoying Prick, aka All The Time,'" Alec said.

Jace grinned. "Oh, please. You love me, just like everyone else." Alec consulted his letter.

"The cheapest prices attract the most customers," he said.

**-o-**

"Alexander, we are going clothes shopping!" Magnus yelled.

"Why?" he whined.

"Because your dear sister told me to take you shopping."

Alec agreed, reluctantly, but as it turned out, shopping was not all bad. He got a few pairs of jeans and some plain, non-glittery shirts. He even convinced Magnus to get a laundry machine. Of course, he wouldn't buy detergent, so Alec had to buy it behind Magnus's back.

**-o-**

Jace arrived at Magnus's flat. He was about to knock on the door when he heard yelling.

"Alexander Lightwood! I cannot believe you would do something like this!" Uh oh.

"What did you want me to do?"

"I wanted you to be happy with the life you led, but _no_, you just had to change it for the sake of a few articles of clothing!"

This sounded serious. Jace silently pushed open the door. Magnus was holding a bottle of laundry detergent in his hand and yelling at Alec, who was red-faced.

"Like you would never change _your_ life for clothes!"

"Alexander, you went behind my back and bought _laundry detergent!_"

Jace busted into laughter. "Wait… wait, this is about _laundry detergent?_"

Alec turned to face Jace. "Magnus refuses to buy laundry detergent, so we have no way of doing laundry!"

"Why don't you go to the Laundromat?"

"Because Magnus is withholding my allowance!"

Coming in behind Jace, Simon and Clary started laughing.

"You have an allowance?" Simon asked.

"And _Magnus_ is controlling it?" Clary added.

"Yeah, doesn't Jace give you an allowance?" Alec asked, confused. "Magnus, get back here."

Magnus had started slinking away through the doorway of his room, but when Alec noticed, he stopped guiltily.

"Alec, boyfriends don't control allowances," Jace laughed.

"Magnus!"

"What?" the warlock exclaimed. "I didn't want you wearing the same clothes!"

"Magnus, I need to be able to do laundry because I am not going to buy more and more clothes like you do."

"Ugh," Magnus rolled his eyes. "What_ever._ Just don't go buying stuff behind my back again."

"I will if I need detergent."

"Well-"

"STOP!" Clary shouted. "We are here to celebrate Izzy's life, not to fight about laundry detergent!"

"Fine," Alec said.

"Now kiss and make up," Jace said, expecting Alec to blush while Magnus pursued him to no avail.

"Fine," Alec repeated, pulling Magnus in for a passionate kiss, a smirk on his lips.

Gagging, Jace locked himself in the bathroom.

**-o-**

"I think Alec's drunk," Simon commented, giggling.

"I'm drunk," Alec giggled.

"Me too!" Clary cried, sitting in Alec's lap. "We're drunk daisies!"

"I'm not drunk, but I want in on this action!" Magnus said, sitting in Alec's lap as well.

"Hehe," Alec giggled again. "I'm Santy Claus! What do you want, kids?"

"I want… a ponycorn," Clary said dreamily.

"Can I have… socks?" Simon asked, tipping over, landing with his head in Jace's lap.

"Hi, Clary," Jace cooed, leaning in to kiss Simon.

"Oh, hi, Jace," Clary giggled, kissing Alec's cheek.

"Don't kiss me! I'm engaged!" Simon cried, holding Jace back.

"Clary, Clary, let me love you!" Jace leaned in farther.

"Okay," Clary giggled dreamily, kissing Magnus.

"I want to do laundry!" Alec cried, standing wobbily and causing Magnus and Clary to spill to the floor.

"Laundry!" Jace agreed, stopping his advances on Simon.

"The laundry games!" Clary yelled.

"May the best laundry guy lose!" Simon said.

"No! No laundry!" Magnus cried, trying to keep them away, but to no avail.

**-o-**

**Only a few more chapters! Like, two more.**


	27. Epilogue!

**I'm bringing you guys an extra long chapter! There's lots of bonding between Simon and Clace's daughter in here. I just added it in on a whim, and I love it, but sorry if you don't!**

**Epilogue, 2026:**

"Jonathan! Maxwell! Go find your father!" Clary yelled, trying in vain to wrestle clothes onto her two-year-old daughter, Valerie. The two boys stampeded down the hall, each trying to get into the weapons room first. Jonathan won, hurriedly talking to his father.

After Izzy's death twelve years ago, Simon left to travel the world. He hadn't returned, but he had kept in touch, and now everyone was meeting up in Central Park, including Jem and Tessa, who had moved to London.

Jace and Clary ran the Institute, while Alec had moved in with Magnus.

Jonathan and Max ran back into Val's room. "He said he'll be here in a few minutes!" Max rushed, trying to get it all out before his brother.

Jonathan was eleven years old, and he had Jace's hair and Clary's eyes. While Clary was pregnant with him, Jace had tried several times to freak her out by cackling and pretending to pour demon blood into her drinks. Clary had not been amused.

Max was eight. He had red, curly hair and green eyes, almost as if Clary was his only parent. He was constantly idolizing and fighting with his older brother.

Val also had red hair, but her eyes were a complete mystery; they were a violet-blue. Magnus insisted they were from one of Jace's ancestors. Val was stubborn, and she repeated everything people said.

Clary led the group of kids down the stairs. She liked to refer to them as her ducklings, but Jace got pissed whenever she said it out loud.

Really, really pissed. And sometimes scared.

**-o-**

"Camelia!" Alec cried. "How many times have I told you? No makeup! You're only ten!"

Camelia rolled her eyes. "But Daddy said I could!"

This was one of the problems with having a female daughter. They wanted to wear makeup, and Magnus encouraged it, while Alec profusely vetoed the idea.

"You can wear glitter, but no makeup!"

"Alexander, it's too late now. We have to leave, or we'll be late," Magnus soothed, coming into the room.

Alec looked at his daughter. She was adopted. Her twisty blonde hair fell almost to her waist, and her blue eyes rivaled Alec's own. They were outlined with eyeliner, and she wore a bit of mascara. Her lips were pink, and there was a bit of glitter in the gloss. She was a mundane, but she knew of the Shadow World. Alec hoped that she would Ascend when she was older, but it was her choice.

Alec sighed and opened the door to the stairwell. The three hurried outside into the warm sunshine, Magnus applying last-minute glitter to his daughter.

**-o-**

Clary hugged Tessa when she saw her. She had a swollen belly, but not too big. She stood with Jem, a little boy holding her hand and looking around interestedly at everything.

"Mummy, I don't ever want to go back to London!" he announced, his British accent making Jonathan laugh.

Tessa laughed. "This is William James," she introduced him. "He's ten." The boy had straight brown hair, and his eyes were full of mischief.

"Hah! I am older than you!" Jonathan cried triumphantly.

Will gave Jonathan a dirty look. "But you're a hooligan, and I am a gentleman."

"Hoowigin," Val rambled, pointing at Will.

"I most certainly am not!" Will cried, indignantly looking towards Tessa.

"It looks like Alec's here," Jace noted, pointing into the distance. A cloud of glitter seemed to be making their way towards the group. As it grew closer, it took the form of three people.

"By the Angel, Magnus, do you need to spray glitter everywhere?" Alec coughed, waving his arm to clear the air.

"Tessa! Jem! It's been a while!" Magnus called, hugging both. He looked at Will. "Let me guess; your name is-"

"I am William James Carstairs," Will announced. "I assume you are Magnus Bane?" He looked at Magnus skeptically.

"The one and only," Magnus announced. Will's eyes widened

"Who is _that?_" he asked, gazing at Camelia.

"I am Camelia Jill Bane," she announced, imitating Will. Camelia's last name would be Bane, because a mundane couldn't have a Shadowhunter name. If she chose to Ascend, she would take the Lightwood name. Camelia giggled.

Will was staring at Camelia as she hugged Clary and Jace, and then her three cousins. Magnus chuckled. "Young love," he whispered to Alec.

"_Really_ young love," Alec snorted. Will looked like a lovesick puppy, but Camelia seemed indifferent to his gaze.

"Where is Mundane Vampire Shadowhunter Simon?" Jace asked, surveying the park.

"Right here," a voice came from behind them. Clary hugged Simon, and she might've cried. Simon laughed and hugged Clary back.

"Who's this?" Clary knelt down, facing the little Asian girl leaning into Simon's side.

"This is Isabelle," Simon said. "She hates when you call her Izzy, though." The girl had rich, brown eyes and medium-length black hair.

"So where've you been, Simon?" Magnus asked, draping his arm over Alec's shoulder.

"Well, I just went from Institute to Institute, across the country. When I visited Florida, I met someone. Her name was Sarah, and she was also a Shadowhunter. We got married, and then we wanted to have kids. There were twins, but… Isabelle's brother, Benjamin, was stillborn. He died, along with his mother. Iz here looks almost exactly the same as Sarah."

"I'm so sorry," Clary said, hugging him again.

"It's okay. I've sort of given up on romance. I mean, first you, then Izzy, then Sarah." Simon seemed sort of sad as he looked at his daughter.

"Sawah," Val said, placing her palms on Simon's leg and peering up at him through her long lashes.

Simon chuckled. "And who's this?" he asked, picking up the little redhead.

"I Valawee," she said. "You Sawah."

"Simon," Simon corrected her.

"You Simon," she said. She turned to Clary. "Mommy, this Simon."

"I know, sweetie," she smiled, taking Val back into her arms.

"I'm Max," Max held out his hand to Isabelle. She hesitantly put her hand in his, and he shook it. When he let go, she buried her face into Simon's side.

"He's eight," Clary said. "And that's Jonathan, he's eleven."

"Isabelle's eight, too," Simon said. "And no offense, but why would you name your daughter after your horrible father?"

Clary rolled her eyes. "It was Jace's idea."

"Valentine and Valerie are two totally different names!" Jace exclaimed. "I just like the name Valerie. It's hot."

"So that's what you named your daughter? Because it was 'hot?'" Alec asked.

"What about you? Camelia, Camille?" Jace shot back.

"Camelia was adopted! We don't get to change her name!" Alec protested.

Alec and Jace continued their name argument as everyone else dispersed. Max took Isabelle to a nearby playground, and Isabelle actually smiled, which Simon said was a miracle. Camelia played with Val, and Will followed her around, staring after her as if she was the only girl in the world. Jonathan, the only kid old enough to have runes, ran back and forth between groups, taunting the other kids.

"Simon?" a voice called out. Simon turned.

"Maia?"

"Wow, I haven't seen you in ages!" she said.

"Yeah, I sorta… left for a while."

"Same," she sighed. "I ran away to Canada. I just needed to get away, after Bat's death."

Bat had died twelve years ago, in the pointless battle against Asmodeus.

"It seems as if love despises us both," Simon sighed, crossing his arms and poking the dirt with his shoe.

"Yeah," Maia said sadly. She looked around. "Are any of these hooligans yours?"

Simon laughed. "Yeah, although I wouldn't call her a hooligan. She's super shy." He pointed out Isabelle. She was laughing at Max, who had just fallen backwards down the slide.

As the two continued talking, they found it easy to talk and laugh with each other. Maia laughed more than she had in years.

**-o-**

Sitting at a huge table in Taki's, the fourteen people laughed and talked together, catching up with each other.

"So, Clary, how are your parents?" Tessa asked.

Clary went quiet, and Jace looked at her worriedly.

"Jocelyn died about two years ago," Jace said carefully. "Luke moved to Arizona right after."

Tessa apologized for bringing the subject up, and Magnus spilled glitter onto Will's plate.

"You've ruined my meal!" Will exclaimed, looking at his glittery food. Camelia giggled, and he immediately shifted his gaze to her, causing Magnus to laugh and wink at his daughter, who looked at him confusedly.

Clary got back into the spirit, and made sure that Jonathan's and Max's thumb-wrestling competitions didn't get out of hand. Isabelle had become Max's best friend in the short period of time they had known each other, and she cheered him on, sticking her tongue out at Jonathan. Val was intrigued by Simon, but she seemed angry when Maia talked to Simon. At one point, Maia had opened her mouth, and Val had reached up to place her tiny hand over the werewolf's mouth and said, "No."

The whole table had laughed, and Maia had turned red. Everyone was enjoying themselves.

Simon picked Val up and placed her in his lap, which appeases her. As it grew late, she put her small head on his chest and her eyes drooped. Then she found a small, silver, ovular locket around his neck, hidden under hid T-shirt. She pulled it out. Simon flicked a tiny clasp to open it, then closed it again. Fascinated, Val focused on the locket, trying to locate the little clasp. After minutes of searching, she grew frustrated and put it in her mouth. After a small _click!_ Val pulled the locket out and looked at the two pictures. One of them was familiar.

"Izizzy," she pointed to one of the pictures. She'd seen the same picture in her mother's old photo albums.

Simon smiled. "Yes," he praised. Pointing to the other side, he said, "That's Sarah." The woman was Asian, and her long, black hair was hanging freely. Her eyes sparkled as she smiled for the picture.

"Sawah," Val repeated. She put a hand on Simon's chest, right above his heart, though she couldn't have possibly known where the heart was. "Izzy. Sawah." With each name, she patted his chest once.

Simon took her hand and patted his chest again. "Val."

Clary started tearing up. She had observed the whole thing, as she was sitting beside Simon. Jace, on the other hand, was untouched.

"Dude, stop hitting on my daughter," Jace said.

"What can I say?" Simon laughed. "She's got a hot name."

The table erupted in laughter once again, and Val frowned, not understanding what was so funny. Seeing the pout on her tiny little lips, they laughed harder. Their laughter was contagious; soon the entire restaurant was laughing, even the tired waiters and waitresses.

So, in a way, they had their happy ending. Of course, no happy ending comes without sacrifice. Keeping this in mind, they made a toast to their children, wishing them their own happy ending. The children all blushed, except for Will, who was _still_ staring at Camelia.

"Just remember," Simon said, "Sometimes, it's better to stay out of the fast lane."

_** THE END**_

**-o-**

**Oh my God! That's the end! It's officially THE END! I'm sort of crying. This is amazing!**

**Thank you to all my readers, I love you all so much! I never expected so many people to love my story! It was a real challenge to keep everyone in character, and sometimes, I just gave them a little more freedom to be as OOC as they wanted! (like when Simon and Jace switched bodies) It's amazing, seeing your own writing progress into something better by the end of a story. Writing fanfiction is so fun, and I will continue to write.**

**I'm thinking of doing a sequel that focuses on the next generation. Of course, the original characters will be in it as well!**

**Please give me some feedback! Did you enjoy my story? Do you want me to write the sequel? Do you have any requests for me to write? I need to know!**

**So much love, Emma**

**(percamalec)**

**PS: if you don't like the way my story ended, don't just bitch me out, okay? Either keep it to yourself, or word your review politely.**

**PPS: pls check out my other stories! I just started a Malec AH/AU**


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